Ali Watson Dubai jetski crash: British dad killed as partner and newborn watched on in horror

A young family’s new life abroad has been shattered after a British father was killed in a horrific jetski collision as his partner and newborn daughter watched from a nearby boat.

Ali Watson, 28, had only recently relocated to Dubai with his girlfriend, Charlotte Lescot, and their baby, Soulie. The move was meant to mark a fresh start.

But what began as an idyllic day on the water turned into unimaginable tragedy. The couple had joined friends for a boat outing, taking four-month-old Soulie along for her first proper day at sea. In footage captured moments earlier, Ms Lescot beams with pride while Watson cradles his daughter, both parents kissing her cheeks in what would unknowingly become their final family video.

Minutes later, Watson, who was experienced on jet skis, headed out for a ride.

Ms Lescot could never have imagined that the last words she would say to him were, “Be safe, I love you.”

Watson’s jet ski was struck by another travelling at high speed, carrying a female passenger. An inquest heard the woman, a trained lifeguard, leapt off moments before impact because she was frightened by the driver’s pace. The collision threw Watson into the air.

He landed face-down in the water, suffering catastrophic chest injuries and dying at the scene. A post-mortem confirmed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system. The coroner ruled the crash an accident, The Mirror reported.

Those held responsible received suspended sentences and fines, the inquest at Exeter Coroner’s Court was told, a decision that has done little to ease Ms Lescot’s grief.

“I was holding the baby on the boat and witnessed it. The last thing I said was ‘be safe, I love you,’” she said last year.

“My world stopped spinning the moment Ali died. I couldn’t function. The world around you is still carrying on.”

In the dazed aftermath of the crash, Ms Lescot struggled to comprehend what she’d seen.

“Even when I saw the crash, I didn’t think the worst,” she said.

“I thought he’d have a broken leg. Death doesn’t go through your mind. When my friend said Char you need to sit down — I knew what she was going to say. I just felt my whole world had collapsed. I just remember screaming at the top of my lungs.”

But the emotional trauma was only the beginning. Much of the couple’s belongings were still en route to Dubai, and because the shipment was under Watson’s name, Ms Lescot couldn’t access necessities, including their baby’s clothing and cot.

The discovery that Watson had cancelled his life insurance policy left her effectively penniless while on maternity leave.

“We had a lot of stuff in a shipment,” she said.

“A lot of Soulie’s clothes, the cot. I couldn’t get it released to me because it was in Ali’s name. Me and my baby had literally nothing. When you lose someone unexpectedly, life stops. You still have to pay rent or mortgage and bills. They don’t stop, but you have stopped.”

Ms Lescot and Watson’s relationship had begun in an untraditional but modern way, through messages on Depop after she bought trainers from him in 2018.

Their connection was instant. Within three months, they moved in together. By the end of 2019 they were expecting Soulie, who arrived in July 2020, in the middle of the UK’s strict Covid restrictions. Feeling isolated, Watson’s pushed for a relocation.

“He really wasn’t happy in the UK. There was no quality of life,” Ms Lescot said.

“We ended up building a life there. It was just nice. We had a better quality of life. We could take Soulie swimming. I felt life was complete.”

At the inquest, tributes described Watson as a man whose death has left a permanent void.

“Ali was a remarkable young man whose untimely death has left us utterly heartbroken,” his mother said.

“We’ve lost a devoted son, a loyal brother, an amazing uncle, a loving partner, and a doting dad in horrific circumstances. The world is unquestionably a poorer place without him in it.”