Mother tells of lake tragedy

Courtney Barker denies three counts of manslaughter

A mother has told a court of the moment when a car driven by her boyfriend plunged over a cliff into a lake, killing her three children.

Claire Armstrong was in the car with her children Imran Khan, aged six, Aaron Khan, five, and Sharla Blair, three, when it fell 16 feet over a cliff in to the Blue Lagoon lake in Arlesey in Bedfordshire.

Ms Armstrong, 23, her boyfriend Courtney Barker and another adult friend struggled to safety, but were unable to rescue the children.

Mr Barker, a 22-year-old fork-lift truck driver from Luton, denies three counts of manslaughter.

Sharla Blair, three, died in the accident

Ms Armstrong told Luton Crown Court she had started living with Mr Barker in 1998 and her children called him "daddy".

She said he was driving at about 10 or 20mph in the moments leading up to the accident.

She described the track as bumpy, but said she had no other concerns.

She had not noticed the driver's door being open.

When the car drove over the cliff, Ms Armstrong was sitting in the back seat holding onto her daughter and to the seats.

'Grossly negligent'

"Water just came in the car.

"I didn't know where I was in the car."

The car was recovered from the lake

In a statement given to police earlier, Ms Armstrong said she tried to dive down after her children but failed.

The court has heard that Mr Barker had never had a driving lesson or passed a driving test, and the Vauxhall Astra had not passed an MOT.

The prosecution says that as Mr Barker drove towards the edge of the cliff, he was operating the pedals with his left foot while propping the door open with his right.

He is accused of driving in a "grossly negligent manner".

However, Mr Barker has told the court the accelerator pedal jammed and he panicked.

The case continues.