Tragic tot's buggy rolled into sea

THE dad whose two-year-old girl died when her buggy plunged into the sea has told cops he let go of the handles to kiss his secret mistress.

Andrew Hopper admitted taking the woman on a seaside day out with Rebecca, two, and her eight-month-old brother Lewis.

While the pair embraced, a gust of wind rolled their double buggy over a 15ft drop. It hit the swirling waters with the strapped-in mites face-down.

Andrew and the woman, a colleague from work, leapt in to unclip them — but eventually all four had to be pulled out by passers-by.

Andrew’s wife Sarah had been unaware of the affair, and believed the woman to be only a family friend. Last night she was trying to come to terms with the revelation.

A source said: “Andrew and his mistress are utterly, utterly devastated by what has happened.
Honest

“They have been completely honest and open with the police about why they were together and why the buggy rolled away.

“No one would wish such an appalling thing on anyone, and they are going to have to live with what happened for the rest of their lives.”

Andrew, 38, had to be treated in hospital for shock but was yesterday with 35-year-old Sarah at Lewis’s bedside. The baby was in a stable condition and is expected to recover.

It is understood police are seeing if there are grounds for neglect charges — and whether any prosecution would be in the public interest.

The tragedy unfolded on Sunday afternoon as Andrew, a software engineer at BAe Systems, walked with the woman at Warren Apron sea defence wall near Folkestone, Kent.

Blonde Rebecca was declared dead two hours later after being airlifted to a specialist unit at The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, East London.

Andrew and Sarah, who also have a ten-year-old son and live in Chatham, Kent, issued a statement praising rescuers and medical staff.

They said Rebecca — who would have been three next Wednesday — was a “sweet, gorgeous little girl”.

They added: “She was a special little girl with a special place in all our hearts.

“She will be sorely missed by everyone who knew her. We love her so much and she will be in our hearts forever.”

Family friends described Rebecca as a beautiful, happy child. Neighbour Angela Whitelaw said: “They are such a lovely family and have three beautiful children.

“I last spoke to little Rebecca just before Christmas and she was so excited.

“We always have a chat with Andrew and Sarah and their eldest child is so polite. I cannot believe this has happened to them. They are such a lovely family.”

Andrew’s father Barry, from Margate, said: “I went over to see him in hospital. It was just a tragic accident.

“The buggy just ran away from them on a sloping bit of the pathway, and that was it. It just slipped away from them.”

So tragic

Someone on Sky suggested that this guy did it on purpose to get rid of the kids. I think it was a tragic accident.

eddie wrote:Someone on Sky suggested that this guy did it on purpose to get rid of the kids. I think it was a tragic accident.

Bloody hell....sometimes I wish people would use their heads FFS!

This is a tragic accident and nothing more and if he was going to kill a child he wouldnt do it in front of a mistress his wife knew nothing about!

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:Someone on Sky suggested that this guy did it on purpose to get rid of the kids. I think it was a tragic accident.

Bloody hell....sometimes I wish people would use their heads FFS!

This is a tragic accident and nothing more and if he was going to kill a child he wouldnt do it in front of a mistress his wife knew nothing about!

Exactly! One poster on there was saying he should be done for neglect! It seems she may be a one-off person who has never made a mistake.....

eddie wrote:

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:Someone on Sky suggested that this guy did it on purpose to get rid of the kids. I think it was a tragic accident.

Bloody hell....sometimes I wish people would use their heads FFS!

This is a tragic accident and nothing more and if he was going to kill a child he wouldnt do it in front of a mistress his wife knew nothing about!

Exactly! One poster on there was saying he should be done for neglect! It seems she may be a one-off person who has never made a mistake.....

People always look at the bad news and they need to vent their anger on someone i suppose.....they see others mistakes but never see their own!

That very same person most probably thinks the McCanns werent negligent in leaving 3 kids alone...who knows!

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:Someone on Sky suggested that this guy did it on purpose to get rid of the kids. I think it was a tragic accident.

Bloody hell....sometimes I wish people would use their heads FFS!

This is a tragic accident and nothing more and if he was going to kill a child he wouldnt do it in front of a mistress his wife knew nothing about!

Exactly! One poster on there was saying he should be done for neglect! It seems she may be a one-off person who has never made a mistake.....

People always look at the bad news and they need to vent their anger on someone i suppose.....they see others mistakes but never see their own!

That very same person most probably thinks the McCanns werent negligent in leaving 3 kids alone...who knows!

Well I was tempted to say that neglect is leaving three babies alone but I didn't see the point as she wasn't listening. I like Sphinx (velvet) but she can be a bit hard-faced.

eddie wrote:

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:Someone on Sky suggested that this guy did it on purpose to get rid of the kids. I think it was a tragic accident.

Bloody hell....sometimes I wish people would use their heads FFS!

This is a tragic accident and nothing more and if he was going to kill a child he wouldnt do it in front of a mistress his wife knew nothing about!

Exactly! One poster on there was saying he should be done for neglect! It seems she may be a one-off person who has never made a mistake.....

People always look at the bad news and they need to vent their anger on someone i suppose.....they see others mistakes but never see their own!

That very same person most probably thinks the McCanns werent negligent in leaving 3 kids alone...who knows!

Well I was tempted to say that neglect is leaving three babies alone but I didn't see the point as she wasn't listening. I like Sphinx (velvet) but she can be a bit hard-faced.

Did Velvet say this man was neglectful??? I mean....was it her who said it?

Yes she did:

sphinx
First post: 23/6/2008
Last post: 18/2/2009
Total posts: 1499
i am not sure it can be called tragic freak accident. if you are on a piece of concrete that slopes towards deep water you can feel the push chair trying to move that way - i have been on similar structures at the sea. if you are going to let go of the pushchair then you make sure the brake is firmly on. most people have seen buggys being blown along by a gust a wind i cannot imagine that the danger of the slope and wind were not apparent.

if the brake was on and failed that is one thing - not neglect. if however you push a buggy onto a concrete slope (from the picture in the sun the slope was noticable) with deep water at the end of it and a gusty wind blowing then remove both hands AND concentration (i am guessing as she was his mistress we are not talking a peck on the cheek) then the result - whilst not inevitable was predictable and avoidable - and that makes it neglect in my book.

http://blogs.news.sky.com/discussions/show.html?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3a746f9309-1bb1-4b07-ad11-647f5ba16800Forum%3a4237bf3e-0948-444d-a452-46289a2fd1f7Discussion%3a64822be9-dced-4181-8c6e-03605d6893a3&plckCategoryCurrentPage=0

Poor kids and poor wife. What a way to find out your husband was having an affair. It will be hard enough coming to terms with her babies being killed but to be told about the affair too. God love her.

eddie wrote:Yes she did:

sphinx
First post: 23/6/2008
Last post: 18/2/2009
Total posts: 1499
i am not sure it can be called tragic freak accident. if you are on a piece of concrete that slopes towards deep water you can feel the push chair trying to move that way - i have been on similar structures at the sea. if you are going to let go of the pushchair then you make sure the brake is firmly on. most people have seen buggys being blown along by a gust a wind i cannot imagine that the danger of the slope and wind were not apparent.

if the brake was on and failed that is one thing - not neglect. if however you push a buggy onto a concrete slope (from the picture in the sun the slope was noticable) with deep water at the end of it and a gusty wind blowing then remove both hands AND concentration (i am guessing as she was his mistress we are not talking a peck on the cheek) then the result - whilst not inevitable was predictable and avoidable - and that makes it neglect in my book.

http://blogs.news.sky.com/discussions/show.html?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3a746f9309-1bb1-4b07-ad11-647f5ba16800Forum%3a4237bf3e-0948-444d-a452-46289a2fd1f7Discussion%3a64822be9-dced-4181-8c6e-03605d6893a3&plckCategoryCurrentPage=0

What a silly comment....

But then again i find most of hers at the best of times belittling to alot of ppl...she always knows best....and she must be a weatherman now too!

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:Yes she did:

sphinx
First post: 23/6/2008
Last post: 18/2/2009
Total posts: 1499
i am not sure it can be called tragic freak accident. if you are on a piece of concrete that slopes towards deep water you can feel the push chair trying to move that way - i have been on similar structures at the sea. if you are going to let go of the pushchair then you make sure the brake is firmly on. most people have seen buggys being blown along by a gust a wind i cannot imagine that the danger of the slope and wind were not apparent.

if the brake was on and failed that is one thing - not neglect. if however you push a buggy onto a concrete slope (from the picture in the sun the slope was noticable) with deep water at the end of it and a gusty wind blowing then remove both hands AND concentration (i am guessing as she was his mistress we are not talking a peck on the cheek) then the result - whilst not inevitable was predictable and avoidable - and that makes it neglect in my book.

http://blogs.news.sky.com/discussions/show.html?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat%3a746f9309-1bb1-4b07-ad11-647f5ba16800Forum%3a4237bf3e-0948-444d-a452-46289a2fd1f7Discussion%3a64822be9-dced-4181-8c6e-03605d6893a3&plckCategoryCurrentPage=0

What a silly comment....

But then again i find most of hers at the best of times belittling to alot of ppl...she always knows best....and she must be a weatherman now too!

Alot of people find her like that tbh, that's why a few of 'my lot' on HandinHand won't join NotSkyNews.
I find her a bit hard-faced but she is always quite pleasant to me - I don't always agree with her though, she has some very stubborn views.