Orphaned boy says his mother's balcony fall was 'tragic accident'

Angry: Mathilde Lamb "lost her balance and fell"
12 April 2012

A boy whose parents separately plunged to their deaths in Morocco has told of his mother's fatal slip off a third-floor balcony.

He told a relative that Mathilde Lamb, known as Tilly, fell as she leaned out of a window to remonstrate with people arguing loudly in the street. Her husband Roger, 47, died four days later when he apparently jumped from the balcony of a hotel in the town of Essaouira.

Now one of the couple's four sons, who was in the £30-a-night apartment at the time of his mother's fall two weeks ago, has denied reports that his parents had a "furious row" moments before the fall.

Her brother-in-law, Mark Rogerson, said the boy believed it was a tragic accident. He said: "There was a great deal of noise outside the apartment. It was Ramadan and so there was a real din in the street.

"Someone then started banging on the door downstairs and Tilly became quite angry. She went to the window to tell them in no uncertain terms to clear off.

"Unfortunately because the awning downstairs was blocking her view she couldn't see what was going on and, according to her son, she climbed up on to the balustrade to get a better view. She overbalanced and fell.

"Roger ran outside and found Tilly lying in the street. Understandably, there has been a great deal of confusion about the events and everyone involved has been struggling to come to terms with things.

"We don't think the balustrade gave way, it sounds as if Tilly just leant out too far and lost her balance."

Initially two locals claimed the couple had been rowing moments before Mrs Lamb fell. The apartment's owner Majid Naimi, 24, said he received a complaint of a "furious argument" from neighbours "a few minutes beforehand". Another man, Jamal Dabi, 23, said he heard "screams" while walking near the flat.

Mr Lamb was a geo-technical engineer and had been living in New Zealand - where he was working to rebuild earthquake-hit Christchurch - while his family remained at their £850,000 family home in Pensham, Worcestershire. He had been seeking to move the family out to New Zealand but Mr Rogerson, who lives in France, denied this had caused tension between the couple.

"There was no row in the apartment," he said. "The family were happy and excited about the future."

The couple's sons Angus, 16, Montague, 15, Henry, 11, and Felix, nine, were flown back to Britain soon after their father's death and are being cared for by relatives.

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