9:24am Friday 10th July 2009
By James Nadal
A SPATE of cliff falls near Newquay which included a Marlow teenager are “quite unprecedented”, police have said.
Sir William Borlase's School pupil Mark Chapple, 16, was the only of three people who fell between June 28 and July 7 to survive.
He suffered a broken neck and fractured skull from the fall on June 30.
Mark was lying unconscious for up to twelve hours with the injuries at the bottom of the 100ft cliff close to the Atlantic Hotel.
He is being treated at Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, Truro.
Inspector Dave Meredith from Newquay Police Station said: “This frequency of cliff falls is quite unprecedented and the police are reviewing each incident.
“All three recent incidents involved young males under 19 years of age who were visiting Newquay on holiday.
Insp Meredith said: “Although the consumption of alcohol cannot be directly linked to any of these incidents, the police are appealing to all persons visiting Newquay this summer to be aware of the dangers of going near cliff areas after consuming alcohol.”
Mark was spotted by sea kayakers and rescued by helicopter after an operation involving Falmouth Coastguard.
Mark had been with friends the night before.
Insp Meredith said: “The recent incidents all occurred after dark with the victims falling from the cliffs after becoming separated from their colleagues.”
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