Teen quarry fall prompts inquiry

The girl was rescued by a specialist emergency crew

The operator of a Black Country quarry says it will be carrying out an inquiry after a teenage girl fell more than 60 feet into a pit.

Abi Cosnet, 14, is believed to have been attempting to climb a cliff when she slipped and fell into the quarry, on the Portway Road, Rowley Regis.

She suffered a broken arm and leg and is being treated at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

A spokeswoman for Midland Quarry Products said fences were in place.

Children seem to see quarries and construction sites as big adventure playgrounds Roger Vincent, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

The incident happened just before 1530 BST on Tuesday and a specialist fire crew and paramedics formed part of the rescue operation.

The teenager was trapped on a ledge and members of the rope rescue team, based at West Bromwich, were lowered into the quarry with a paramedic and stretcher.

She was then lowered to the ground by stretcher and carried out of the quarry to a waiting air ambulance.

The fall had been witnessed by a group of geology students on a tour of the site, who then raised the alarm.

Roger Vincent, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said parents and children need to be more aware of the dangers.

"Sadly, these incidents you almost come to expect during the half-term holidays," he said.

"Children seem to see quarries and construction sites as big adventure playgrounds.

"But they can be extremely dangerous for people who know their way around them, they are not places for children to play."