Drunk boy tragedy
A TEENAGE Good Samaritan who fell 100ft to his death from cliffs was drunk after celebrating finishing his GCSEs, an inquest heard yesterday.
Patrick Higgins, known as Paddy, was the second youngster to die in a fall from the same cliffs in just a week.
His father John, 48, pleaded later for his son to be remembered as a “good boy” rather than for the drinking spree that cost him his life.
He said: “We are all extremely proud of our son and want him to be remembered as a good boy and evidence came out that he was trying to look after a friend.
“He made a couple of mistakes but we don’t want him to be remembered just for the fact he drank too much.”
The inquest heard how the teenager had got off a bus on the way back to his campsite in Newquay, Cornwall, to look for a friend he thought was lost. It is thought he became disorientated and took a short cut across a beach to where there was another bus stop.
The inquest heard how he tried to climb part of a cliff but fell as the rock face became too steep. He suffered a broken spine and hip and his chest was crushed by the fall on July 6 last year. His body was found two days later by a 17-year-old girl from another party of GCSE pupils celebrating the end of their exams.
Patrick, 16, a keen sportsman and rugby player who was with 15 school friends from Wokingham, Berks, had drunk five or six cans of strong lager bought from a supermarket before going for a night out and drinking more alcohol at an Indian restaurant.
His blood alcohol level was more than three times the drink-drive limit. Verdict: Open.
