Funeral for cliff death teenager

Paddy's father says Newquay should not advertise itself as a party place

The funeral has been held of a teenager who died when he fell off a cliff in Cornwall where he was celebrating the end of his GCSEs.

Paddy Higgins, 16, a pupil at Forest School in Winnersh near Wokingham, was pronounced dead on Tolcarne beach after apparently falling on 6 July.

Family and friends gathered at a funeral service at St Mary's Church, Reading, on Monday afternoon.

His old school closed from 1300 BST to allow pupils and teachers to attend.

Since Paddy's death, his father John has submitted a petition to the Number 10 website.

He wants Newquay to stop advertising itself as a party place for teenagers and that cliff access points should be fenced off at night.

Opponents said it is unfair to single out Newquay and that 16-year-olds should not be allowed to go away on holiday unsupervised.

Paddy had been in the resort with nine friends who had been drinking beer and spirits in a restaurant.

After they left, one of them went missing and Paddy went after him. That was the last time his friends saw him alive.

Mr Higgins said he gave Paddy permission to go because his elder step-brother had visited the resort three years ago.

Local authorities say all shops are banned from selling alcohol to under 25s without ID.

They have also said youth workers patrol at night to offer a helping hand and buses are on hand to shuttle partygoers to and from campsites.