Jessica Lawson death: Teacher thought pontoon was safety feature

Brenda and Tony Lawson are attending the judicial hearing into Jessica's death in France

A teacher in charge of a school trip where a 12-year-old girl drowned after a pontoon capsized said he thought the platform was a safety feature.

Jessica Lawson, from Wolfreton School near Hull, had been swimming in a lake near Limoges, France, in 2015 when it overturned. She later died in hospital.

A judicial hearing into her death has begun in the French town of Tulle.

Steven Layne, 46, told prosecutors he did not witness "any sort of distress" when the pontoon overturned.

The court was told 24 children, aged 12 to 17, from the school had been swimming when the plastic pontoon overturned and Jessica was found beneath it.

Head of Jurisdiction in Tulle, Marie-Sophie Waguette, said there should have been a minimum of three chains to secure the platform, but a picture shown in court displayed only two.

She asked Mr Layne, with the help of an interpreter, what the guidelines were for accompanying children on swimming trips in the UK and if he knew the rules for France.

He said he did not know and had not asked, although staff had checked with the lifeguard and concluded conditions were OK.

"When I spoke to the students I did say they could use the pontoon but I told them in using it they weren't to do any diving, not to be silly, to respect other people around it and to not scream and shout," he said.

He said he had told them not to do any bombing and added he did not think it was dangerous.

He said when the platform overturned he checked first to see if there was "any sort of distress from the students".

"I checked over my shoulder to see the lifeguard, to see his reaction as he was looking in the direction of the platform - but there was no distress from him."

Stephen Layne (left), Daisy Stathers (centre) and Chantelle Lewis (right) are giving evidence at the hearing

He said a couple of children had tried to get the pontoon right again, but he told them to get out of the water.

"As the kids were coming out the water we did quickly check to see who was missing and realised that Jessica Lawson was missing."

Mr Layne was then asked why he had not reacted to the pontoon capsizing.

"I did react by looking at the lifeguard to gauge their reaction to see what they thought of the situation," he replied.

"I could see that platform was tilted but it was not unstable."

When asked about the platform being identified as a possible risk, he said: "When we did the risk assessment I actually saw the pontoon and I saw it as a safety feature.

"Should they swim, they could use it as something to hang on to."

The hearing in France is due to last two days

Another teacher, 34-year-old Chantelle Lewis - who was also on the trip - denied she was refusing to accept responsibility.

A PE teacher at the time, she told the court she "wouldn't say there was a risk" because the children knew how to swim.

She later became emotional, saying: "I started to panic and asked 'where's Jess?'"

Asked why she had not ordered the children to get out of the water when the pontoon capsized, she said: "It was quick... these were split seconds."

Languages teacher Daisy Stathers said the students were a "really nice" group and had "behaved perfectly the whole time they were there".

Asked if she believed it was the children's behaviour that caused the pontoon to capsize, Ms Stathers said: "The platform was not fit.

"At no point were the children playing dangerously."

Ms Stathers, who also became emotional, said: "I didn't realise it was Jessica who was missing - Ms Lewis pointed it out to the lifeguard.

"Then I felt increasingly panicked but there were 23 other students we were trying to get out (of the water) so I was trying to stay calm."

Mr Layne, Ms Lewis and Ms Stathers, lifeguard Leo Lemaire and the town of Liginiac are all accused of negligence in connection with Jessica's death.

The case continues, and is expected to last two days.