The daughter of a “kind-hearted and funny” mum who was found dead in a restaurant toilet in Blackpool two days after going inside, has said she was determined to turn her life around after addiction battles.
Mum-of-two and nan Sabrina Lyttle was discovered in a disabled toilet at the Gurkha Buffet Restaurant in Blackpool on November 30, 2024. In a poignant public tribute, Sabrina’s daughter Jade Casey, 27, said that she’d “feared this day since I was a child but nothing could have prepared me for the call”, reports the Mirror.
Jade, who grew up in foster care due to her mum’s addiction issues, described Sabrina as a “beautiful soul buried beneath all the trauma and addiction”.
“The drugs stripped you of all of the good parts and only left the bad for a long time but I know how hard you fought, for years, you fought so hard mum, but in the end the battle was too fierce.”
Speaking to The Mirror, Jade, 27, from Fleetwood, Lancs., described her mum as an “intelligent, funny, caring and kind” lady who “lit up a room”. The 47-year-old had battled with a drug addiction for many years, according to her family.
They described her as an empathetic, caring person who put others’ needs before her own, even when she was homeless. Sabrina entered the restaurant just one day after she’d been released from prison, said Jade.
She had served a brief sentence for petty theft. She was picked up on November 27 and checked into a B&B, before entering the Asian eatery on November 28.
She was discovered on November 30, after access was gained by police. “I spoke to her in prison to weeks before she was released,” said Jade, who is also a mum, “she was adamant she was going to get a flat and get herself better for her family.”
“Unbeknownst to us, she’d been released and someone from Horizon (a local addiction support service) had picked her up from prison and taken her for breakfast on Wednesday the 27th.” Sabrina’s mum, Christine Lyttle, 68, said she was visited by police on November 30 and delivered the heartbreaking news.
“We just have so many questions and need answers,” said Christine. It comes as an inquest opened into Sabrina’s tragic death, which is set to be resumed in April this year. Jade added: “We don’t currently know the cause of death or when exactly she died.
“The restaurant is one we used to eat at and the staff were great, but I still feel it’s neglectful. We know she had asked a staff member to use the toilet. It probably would have been obvious my mum was someone who had suffered years of homelessness and addiction. Knowing she was on the floor while people were eating, drinking and having Christmas parties is just awful.”
Sabrina was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland but moved to Birmingham as a child and studied law in college, before moving to Blackpool to join Christine. She had two children, as well as a brother, Daniel, 37.
Jade, who herself is a trained psychologist and has worked with people battling addiction, added: “It’s important we all have a bit more compassion for people with addictions to drugs and alcohol and remember that it’s a symptom or a trauma response. These people are beloved friends and family members.”
Gurkha Buffet Restaurant has been approached for comment.
The restaurant previously claimed that access to the toilet – which was a separate, locked room – was only accessible through a RADAR key gained from staff, and that while other toilets were checked every day, the disabled loo was “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,” a spokesperson said. “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 the speculations have 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.”
A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary previously said: “We were called at shortly after 1pm on Saturday, November 30 to a report of a sudden death at an address on Waterloo Road in Blackpool. Officers attended and sadly the body of a woman in her 40s was found dead inside the address. Our thoughts are with her loved ones at this time. The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
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