An elderly woman has died after falling from her wheelchair on to the beach in tragic circumstances.

The shock incident happened near to May Street was reported at 3pm last Thursday.

A Police Scotland spokesman stated: “We received an emergency call to a report of an elderly woman having fallen out of her wheelchair, from the prom onto the beach, near May Street.

She was taken by ambulance to Inverclyde Royal Hospital, but died a short time after admission.

“A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal, and enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.” It was later revealed that the woman, aged 95, was called Patricia Rostek.

On Facebook, a large number of residents paid tribute to the the OAP after the tragedy which has left the community in mourning.

While the circumstances surrounding the incident are not yet know, one user stated that it was ‘time for barriers along the whole prom before we have another tragedy’, while another recommended it was required from the kiosk to the bottom of May Street, commenting: “It should have been installed a long time ago