Widow of Tunisia attack victim 'played dead' after being shot by gunman
The widow of a man killed in the Tunisia terror attack has described how she "played dead" after they were both shot by the beach gunman.
Allison and Philip Heathcote were relaxing on the beach during a 30th wedding anniversary holiday when gunman Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire.
He killed 38 tourists on the beach at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel on June 26 2015.
Mrs Heathcote said she lay still on the sand after being shot five times by Rezgui, in a statement read to the inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Describing how she experienced "pure fear" she said that, as she lay wounded, the killer walked away, before she then heard the gunshots getting closer again.
She said: "I was fearing for my life. I stayed laying on the sand, trying not to move and draw attention to the fact that I was still alive.
"I decided my best chance of survival was to play dead."
She added: "At the first opportunity I was asking Philip if he was all right.
"There was no response from Philip and I realised he had not made it."
Mrs Heathcote, then 48, who lived with her husband in Felixstowe, Suffolk, was shot in the arm and abdomen and spent a month in an induced coma, the inquest heard.
In her statement she said she experienced a "stinging pain" after being shot in the arm.
But she had not initially realised how badly she had been hurt, putting it down to the fear and adrenaline.
The hearing was told that the couple, who have a 27-year-old son James, had become engaged six weeks after meeting in 1985.
Mr Heathcote, who worked as a traffic operator for Goldstar Transport, was a keen rugby and cricket player in his youth and had continued as a cricket coach for local children in Suffolk, as well as a league umpire.
He also loved to watch his son play sports and talk about the games he had played in.
Originally from Manchester, Mr Heathcote was also a lifelong Manchester United fan, the inquest heard.