Daughter seeking answers after mum died while working in bookmakers

Lynne Giffen was pronounced dead in bookmaker Ladbrokes' King's Lynn branch on Easter Sunday 2022.

The shop in Tower Street has a centrally-monitored 'man down' system, which is activated if a worker falls.

But when Mrs Giffen collapsed just before 8pm, the alarm was not raised.

The 69-year-old widow lay on the floor of the kitchen in the shop for an hour until she was seen by a customer, who ran to a nearby restaurant to get help.

Police arrived at 9.09pm and an ambulance was on the scene two minutes later.

There was nothing medics could do.

Previously healthy Mrs Giffen, who lived in North Wootton, was believed to have suffered a heart attack.

But a post mortem revealed the cause of death to have been pneumonia, Covid and ischaemic heart disease.

Mrs Giffen's daughter Sarah, 48, said: "I'll never know what would have happened if my mum had got some help in time.

"I wonder if she'd still be with us if she'd been given the chance but that chance was taken away from us."

A family picture of Lynne Giffen, who died after she collapsed in the betting shop where she worked in King's Lynn (Image: Submitted)

Ladbrokes' parent company Entain has carried out an internal review after Mrs Giffen's death.

It said: "At 19.52:06 Lynne can be seen to fall forward and then fall to the floor."

It adds she could no longer be seen after this as there was no camera coverage in the kitchen area where she fell.

"Lynn does not reappear from the area or is seen to raise to a standing position from the floor," it added.

The log says a customer entered the shop at 8.39pm and played on a machine before spotting Mrs Giffen at 8.55pm.

"He sees Lynne and leaves the shop, which we assume is to seek help, as he returns a minute later speaking on his mobile," it continues.

An ambulance arrived a 9.11pm - an hour and 20 minutes after Mrs Giffen collapsed.

The log says the 'man down' system was activated at 8.05pm after there had been no movement for 10 minutes behind the counter.

There were four further 'man down' alarms.

It added an operator had wound the CCTV back, saw Mrs Giffen carrying out a cash check and assumed this was part of her closing down procedure, meaning she had left the shop.

It concludes: "A full review of our 'man down' system is being conducted and will be complete within coming months."

Mrs Giffen had worked for Ladbrokes since the late 1980s. She had retired before returning to work because she enjoyed her job so much.

The betting firm, which gave her family £3,500 towards her funeral, said: "We are extremely saddened by the passing of our long-standing colleague, Lynne Giffen.

“We have been fully supporting Lynne’s family and close colleagues through this difficult time.”

School catering supervisor Miss Giffen, who lives near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Lynn, said: "It's just been going round and round in my head.

"She's seen to go into the kitchen area, then it says she could be seen to fall to the floor.

The Ladbrokes betting shop in King's Lynn, where Lynne Giffen worked (Image: Chris Bishop)

"The man down went five times. Why wasn't the alarm raised?"

The 'man down' system is operated by security firm Link Integrated.

Its managing director Jim Leitch said in an e-mail to Miss Giffen that there had been a thorough review into the events leading up to her mother's death.

When contacted by the Eastern Daily Press, Mr Leitch said: "She collapsed in room where there was no camera."

He declined to comment anything further on the incident.