The widow of world-renowned scientist Keith Cox has told for the first time of her desperate battle to save him after their boat capsized.

Courageous Gillian Cox, 59, watched her husband die in the sea before trying unsuccessfully to drag his limp body to shore.

"I just had to make this awful decision to let go of his body," she said.

The couple, who had been married for 37 years, were sailing off the Isle of Mull, Scotland, when their small boat unexpectedly flipped over.

They clung to the keel for hours awaiting rescue before deciding to swim the 250 yards to shore.

But Dr Cox, 65, of Bagley Wood Road, Kennington, began to feel exhausted and stopped swimming. When his wife realised, she turned to find his body floating lifelessly next to her.

"His head had fallen forward and it was in the water. I panicked and managed to turn him on his back. It was at this point I thought he was already dead and his eyes were open."

It had been the perfect evening for a sail. As Dr Keith Cox steered his dinghy out of the bay he waved to fisherman and relished the fresh Scottish air. Tragically, they were to be the last few hours of his life. His brave wife Gillian said: "It happened so quickly. The boat went completely upside down in a matter of seconds and Keith must have been thrown clear.

"I was trapped underneath the boat. It was fortunate I was not wearing my life-jacket at that time, because if you are trapped under a boat you have to swim under to get out. "I was so relieved when I got out but it was horrid. Keith said we had to try and get the life-jackets. I managed to locate one - unfortunately not both." Mrs Cox put on the jacket and her husband hauled them both onto the dinghy's upturned keel.

"We lay like that for a while. There was not much space on the boat - it was sloping and slippery and the tide was going out.

"We were tired and cold and were not going to hold on. We decided to swim and we swam in tandem, which was very encouraging. We kept this up until we were within 50 yards of the shore. "Then Keith said he needed a rest, that he was tired. It was not long after that I heard him call out. I just thought he had gone on swimming too, and was now exhausted.

"I said 'Come on, we are not giving up now'. But I realised he was no longer saying anything. I turned around then to see him - it was the most horrendous thing.

"His head had fallen forward and it was in the water. I panicked and managed to turn him on his back. It was at this point I thought he was already dead and his eyes were open. "I just had to make this awful decision to let go of his body."

Mrs Cox scrambled out of the water, which was 10c in temperature, and scaled a 100ft cliff before finding a group of yachtsmen. They contacted the coastguard and she was rushed to hospital suffering with hypothermia and a broken finger. There she was comforted by her son James and daughter Emma, who had joined them in Scotland for the family's holiday.

Meanwhile, a massive rescue attempt was ensuing, with a helicopter fitted with infra-red search equipment called in to scan the seas. Teams of local sailors spent days scanning the coastline for Dr Cox's body, but to no avail. Even today, (FRIDAY) local boats keep on the lookout, although police believe the body may have been washed up to 70 miles away. Mrs Cox told police her husband probably had a heart attack and immediately assumed the worst. Last Sunday night the close family, coastguards and police held a memorial service on a boat close to the tragic scene.

Mrs Cox, a retired biology lecturer at Abingdon College, is currently recovering from her injuries at home.

Dr Cox, a former undergraduate of Queen's College, Oxford, had lectured in geology at Jesus College since 1972. He was a world-renowned authority on volcanic rocks and academics travelled across the world to hear his views. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1988 to mark his contribution to science.

He loved sailing, music and gardening and was due to retire in a few weeks. He was also a skilled sailor who often took his dinghy along the River Thames.

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