Tunisia beach terror attack victim Trudy Jones, of Blackwood, was identified by a friend who recognised her glittery toenail varnish, an inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice in London has been told.
Ms Jones, a 51-year-old mother-of four and grandmother of eight, suffered fatal wounds to her neck and chest after she was shot by lone gunman Seifeddine Rezgui at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba, near Sousse, in June 2015.
The inquest, which is being held into the deaths of 30 Britons, was told care worker Ms Jones was holidaying with friends when she was killed.
Friend Carol Anne Powell said she went to sit by the pool after breakfast while Ms Jones went to the beach to sunbathe.
She said: “At around 12 or 12.30pm, I heard the most terrible explosion. The explosion came from behind me, towards the beach area. It was the loudest noise you could ever hear.”
She initially thought it was an explosion in a beach kitchen, but then crowds of people appeared, running away from the area.
“I wanted to run towards the beach to check on Trudy, but people were running towards me shouting ‘Go, go’. I started to run towards the hotel with the crowds of people.”
Ms Powell eventually decided to play dead in a hotel car park and said she was saved by an unknown man who carried her on his shoulders.
She said that in the following days, she attended the mortuary where the victims’ bodies were being held and recognised Ms Jones by the glittering nail varnish on her toes. Her identify was later confirmed through dental records.
In a statement, Ms Jones’ family described her as a loving mother, grandmother, sister and daughter.
They said: “She was a beautiful person inside and out. She would put everyone’s happiness before her own. Making others happy made her happy. You only had to meet her once and you would never forget her. She was an amazing lady. The world was a much better place with her in it. Truly one-of-a kind.”
Friend Mark Hornby, said he had not been aware of the terror threat in Tunisia.
In his statement, he said: “I did not check the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website as I was not aware of it. The terror risk was not brought to our attention by Thomson [the holiday company]. I assumed we would be safe on our holiday, especially as the hotel was five stars.”
Ms Jones was killed just two days before she was due to return home to Blackwood.
The hearing continues.