A CORONER has called for a review of safety along a popular stretch of coastal footpath where a holidaymaker plunged to her death as she enjoyed an afternoon stroll with her family.
Grandmother Christine Craven, 59, suffered fatal head injuries when she slipped off the path at Seahouses, Northumberland, and fell 30ft down a sheer cliff face on to rocks below.
She was walking in heavy rain on the slippery footpath – next to the town’s golf course – at the back of a single file group which also included her husband, daughter, son-in-law and two young grandchildren.
Yesterday an inquest was told it is not known what caused Mrs Craven to fall from the public right of way, which is part of the popular Northumberland Coast Path and St Oswald’s Way network used by thousands of walkers each year.
Since the tragedy – which happened in August when Mrs Craven and her family had travelled from Leeds to stay at a caravan park near Beadnell – Northumberland County Council has made changes in a bid to improve safety.
It has put up signs warning people of the sheer drop down the cliffs, levelled off the surface of the path and cut back vegetation.
But at yesterday’s inquest in Alnwick, coroner Tony Brown said he would be writing to the authority to ask for a re-assessment of the situation in light of issues raised at the hearing. He said the council believed the proximity of the footpath to the cliff edge did not present an unacceptable hazard to walkers, but Mrs Craven’s family felt it was too close to the 30ft drop.
Mr Brown said: “I do have concerns that the footpath at this location presents a significant hazard to users. It is a footpath used by hundreds of people, including children, the elderly and less experienced walkers.
“I will write to the council asking them to reassess the situation and consider taking further actions in view of the circumstances of this death.
“I have concerns that similar circumstances could happen again, causing another death at this location.”
He said he hoped the council’s response to his request would include an update on progress with discussions with the local landowner on the possibility of re-aligning the footpath and moving it further away from the cliff edge. At the point where Mrs Craven fell the path is only about two metres wide and separated from the cliff by a thin strip of grass.
The council’s countryside access manager, Michael Jeffrey, told the inquest the path is extremely popular with walkers and had not been affected by significant erosion or subsidence.
He said while it presented a greater hazard than some other paths in the county, it was not felt it posed an unacceptable risk to walkers.
After the hearing Mrs Craven’s husband David, a mechanical engineer from Garforth, Leeds, welcomed the coroner’s intervention. “We definitely feel the footpath is too close to the edge of the cliff and should be moved. The remedial work carried out since the accident has improved things but it is still too near a 30ft drop. We just want to see something done to avoid anything like this happening to someone else.”
Verdict: Accident.
