THE granddaughter of a former St Helier Constable and Jurat is seriously ill in a French hospital after a freak snowboarding accident in the Alps.

Emily Watts (26), who is known as Mimi, was snowboarding with friends in Chamonix on Saturday when she crashed and knocked herself out. She fell into deep powder snow and is believed to have inhaled the snow, which suffocated her.

She is the granddaughter of Peter Baker, who served as St Helier Constable from 1973 to 1982 and the niece of serving St Helier Deputy James Baker. Her mother, Nicky McAllister (née Baker), was born and brought up in Jersey before moving to the UK, and the family have numerous relatives in the Island.

Deputy Baker told the JEP his niece was now on a life support machine in Annecy Hospital after effectively drowning in snow, but the outlook was not good.

Full story in Wednesday’s JEP