Bosses of Blackpool restaurant where woman lay dead in toilet for two days hit back at criticism

The bosses of a Blackpool restaurant where a woman lay dead in a toilet for two days have hit back at criticism about them posted on-line.

Emergency services found 47-year-old Sabrina Lyttle's body in the disabled toilet at the Gurkha Restaurant in November last year.A spokesperson for the venue said Sabrina had entered as a non-customer on the night of Thursday 28 November, asking to use the toilet and had been directed to the general toilets, not the disabled facilities.The following evening, someone else asked to use the disabled toilet but staff and customers were unable to open it and the matter was then reported to management. Sabrina's body was then found the next day - Saturday 30 November - when staff were again unable to get the door open, even after removing the lock.

Police say there were no suspicious circumstances around her death.Sabrina's mother Catherine had posted on Facebook that customers had reported not being able to access one of the cubicles.She added: "My daughter entered the property on Thursday 28 November to use the toilet.

"Post mortem is still waiting to find the cause of death but her body was not discovered until Saturday afternoon."

In a statement the restaurant say: "On Thursday 28th November 2024 at 8.34pm, a non-customer member of the public entered the premises and asked to use the toilets.

"As the restaurant had already closed for the evening, directions to the pub toilets, which are in a separate area of the building, were given. Staff in the pub provided further directions to the general pub toilets and did not issue access to the disabled toilet.

"Access to the separate and locked disabled toilet is gained via staff as the facility cannot be opened without a RADAR key. The male and female toilets are deep-cleaned every morning and checked throughout the day, with the disabled toilet checked after every authorised use and cleaned as required, due to infrequent use.

"Access to the disabled toilet was not requested until Friday evening around 10pm. The staff with the assistance of other helpful pub customers were unable to unlock the door and as access had not been granted for the past 24 hours, it was reported as a maintenance issue to management.

"The following day on Saturday before opening, management was unable to gain access using all secure keys and removing the locking mechanism before alerting the police.

"We are aware of public posts that are full of information that is not correct, and we believe speculation has not contributed positively to anyone affected, including the grieving family, the dedicated Gurkha staff and the community of Blackpool. We are aware of an ongoing inquest and will not be making any further public comments."

Blackpool Council say that they are aware of the incident, and that officers from the public protection team intend to speak to bosses at the restaurant once staff return from their Christmas break.

An inquest into Sabrina Lyttle's death is due to be held in April.