WHEN I first saw the story of Kay Longstaff, the woman who fell from the Cruise ship 60 miles offshore, it looked a good news story.

The former Evesham woman managed to survive 10 hours in the Adriatic sea, with the 46-year-old saying she was "very lucky" to have survived the ordeal.

And she thanked her "wonderful rescuers", the Croatian Coast Guard, for their work in finding her location and coming to her rescue.

Lovro Oreskovic, captain of the Cavtat Coast Guard rescue ship, later said: "We have saved a life, and nothing else compares to it."

It was all heartwarming to see, with what could have been a tragedy becoming a positive, feel good story.

But then of course, the coverage quickly changed in the national press, and on social media.

There were reports of alleged drunken rows, and claims she in fact jumped from the Norwegian Star.

And the coverage turned to focus on quotes calling her a "stupid woman" in tabloids.

I have to say I have always had a issue with this type of tabloid coverage. This is the perfect example of the classic building someone up to, to bring them down. Kay Longstaff's story is certainly one of the quickest turnarounds I can ever remember.

From 'miracle Brit' and 'super heroine' to 'stupid woman' within hours.

Don't get me wrong here, the press should be allowed to report on the story, and using quotes from eye witnesses is part of the job. But the tone of the coverage is important.

One story I saw was about Norwegian Cruise passengers demanding compensation as her "sea plunge ruined their holiday", and others began digging into her personal life, and relationships.

If - and it is still a big if as police continue to investigate -she did jump, my first thought is not to be critical. To do an extreme thing to jump is likely to have been motivated by her being in a bad place mentally, and we don't even know the facts behind what happened at this point.

I'm waiting for the air hostess to give her side of the story in a proper interview, but until that happens no one should be judgmental.

The tabloid press has always had a history of reporting in this style, but 'gutter journalism' - as this is sometimes labelled - ends up giving the whole industry a bad name.