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Boycott Newquay, says dead boy's stepmum

Holiday resort's attitude to underage drinking blamed after 16-year-old plunges to his death from cliffs

By Lewis Smith

Paddy Higgins drinking with friends in a Newquay restaurant just hours before he fell 70 feet to his death

PA

Paddy Higgins drinking with friends in a Newquay restaurant just hours before he fell 70 feet to his death

Little more than two hours after being pictured drinking under-age in Newquay, 16-year-old Paddy Higgins plunged 70 feet to his death from a cliff.

Yesterday, in an attempt to shame the Cornish seaside town where the boy died into halting the drinking culture, his family released a picture of the drinking party where he had been celebrating the end of his GCSEs with friends.

Paddy, like thousands of young people, had been attracted to Newquay's reputation as a place to party.

His parents, John and Maria, were too distraught yesterday to speak publicly but his stepmother, Shireen Higgins, spoke out to urge other families to boycott the holiday town.

She has launched a campaign group on Facebook, the social networking website, and said: "We just want to warn parents not to send their kids there.

"We are telling them 'Do not send your children to Newquay' until they do more to stop under-age drinking and fence off the cliffs."

Mrs Higgins was critical of the town's attitude to under-age drinking after learning that Paddy had been served sambuca in a restaurant about two hours before he died. At home in Wokingham, Berkshire, she said, he and his friends would have been seen as too young to be served.

"Newquay is advertised as the party capital of the UK for teenagers. To 16-year-olds partying means getting drunk. It is all about the messages the resort is sending. We cannot bring Paddy back but if we can stop other families going through what we are going through something positive can come from what has happened."

Mrs Higgins' son, Tom, 19, also went to the seaside town after finishing his GCSEs. Now at Brunel University, he said that teenagers were attracted to Newquay because it was possible to be served alcohol. Paddy was reported to have been proud to have been able to buy his friends a round of drinks, and the photograph of them clutching glasses was taken by a restaurant waiter.

The teenager's body was found on Tolcarne Beach early on Monday morning. He was the second youth to die in a cliff fall in Newquay in a just over week.

Eight days earlier, Andrew Curwell, 18, from Saddleworth, Lancashire, was found at the foot of cliffs at the nearby Great Western Beach. The Leeds Rhinos' rugby academy player was on holiday with friends celebrating the end of his A-level exams when he fell.

The owner of the Indian Express restaurant in Newquay's Central Square, where Paddy and his friends were photographed, denied the group was served sambuca. But he is said to have confirmed the group was at the restaurant and was drinking.

"They were in here drinking but there is no way we would served them sambuca," he is reported as saying. We ID everyone and people are only allowed to drink with a meal. This is a family restaurant."

Inspector Dave Meredith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, urged people visiting pubs and clubs in the town to use buses and taxis rather than walk near the cliff edges.

Paddy was staying at a campsite just outside the town.

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ABCD101
[info]abcd101 wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 12:39 am (UTC)
As adults now, can we not remember we used to get drunk when we were kids too - it is part of growing up. We just weren't stupid enough to throw ourselves over Cliffs, or under tube trains, or in front of cars. Even when pissed we took care or had friends who took care for us.

Boycott stupid parents and their stupid children. That might solve the problem!
Re: ABCD101
[info]nickyy_xox wrote:
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 at 09:35 am (UTC)
i think thw comment that says 'We just weren't stupid enough to throw ourselves over Cliffs' is absoloutley out of order, you have to remember this family hve just lost a 16 year old member of their family, put yourself in that position imagine loosing your son! This only happend a week ago so obviously the family are still grieveing! how dare anyone say she is wrong to blame other people or factors, when your grieving or upset you blame everyone and everything, i bet the family are beside themselves so please have some respect at this difficult time!
[info]alphablob wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 05:27 am (UTC)
Why is it always someone else's fault? In this Country now its always a case of blame someone else. When are people going to start excepting responsibility. First of all what are the parents doing allowing inexperienced youngsters/teenagers to go off on holiday at such a young age and to Newquay of all places? Newquay hasn't been a family resort for years. Its a haven for stag and hen parties and generally a place to go and party hard and get totally hammered. You don't see people regardless of age, well ok lets say 16/17/18 year olds falling off cliff edges during the day. ALL these cliff falls have been late at night or during the very early hours of morning. After kicking out time at the pubs and clubs.

The views from Tolcarne, Great Western Beaches during the daylight is outstanding. Why should they be fenced off because some inexperienced, under age drinkers decide to throw themselves off? We have all seen the advert of that kid who threw himself off a building after a drinking session.

Parents need to except responsibility and stop blaming others! Its hardly rocket science is it!

Just one other thing, what were the parents thinking of? These kids are hardly going to go there to build sand castles are they!!!! WAKE UP - SMELL THE COFFEE!!!
Only Once
[info]over325one wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 06:21 am (UTC)
You only need to go down town in Newquay on a Friday or Saturday night and you will never go again anyway. That is unless you are a fan of drunken yobs being sick in the street and being threatened by drunken tattood morons with piercing. I know locals who detest what has become of the place. Modern day Britain.
[info]lustyglaze wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 06:43 am (UTC)
All through my youth, living and growing up inNewquay, I remember story after story, in the local newspaper, local news or related by friends, of people (some of them personal friends or school mates) risking their lives - life boatmen, air sea rescue teams, lifeguards - to save holidaymakers who did foolish things and took risks (unsupervised lilos, climbing cliffs, swimming in rough seas, etc. etc.). Newquay is a beautiful but dangerous place. Many of us regret the small group of people intent on marketing it as a place for young people to get pissed - imagine what it's like to live in the middle of all that, there is a perfectly adequate holiday market without it, and which causes much less damage and discomfort to others. But a new generation of young people have grown up in a culture which does not allow them in the playground when it is snowing in case they slip over - we have a generation that has not learned to know their own limitations and take responsibility for their own well being. Also young men take risks. Most cliffs in the town are fenced, but some people climb over these fences.

This boy's death is a tragedy, as are all the others I have witnessed in my years here. I hope that others who come here do so in t he knowledge that, however beautiful or exciting, they are coming to a dangerous place which demands respect - not just for their own wellbeing, but the wellbeing of those in the rescue services. No holiday destination is going to advertise that, people ultimately have to take responsibility for themselves.
[info]nixcails wrote:
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 at 12:25 am (UTC)
This has to be by far the most common sense post here. One of the main reason council tax payments in the South West have risen greatly in recent years has been for the provision of water safety, security and crime measures and emergency services provision (Devon & Cornwall constabulary, Cornwall Fire Service, HM Coastguard) is lack of common sense or consideration by people from urban areas who do not have to think for themselves.
You make an interesting statement about the nanny state too and how it affects people inability to do their own risk assessment on a situation without the added impediment of Alcohol.
Taking responsibilty for yourself..
[info]sportingmac wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 07:47 am (UTC)
Society has evolved a very worrying trend - a belief that someone or some care system will take care of me when I do something stupid.

If we get too fat we blame fast food outlets and then go to the NHS for a 'cure'

If we get too drunk in 24hr pubs - we fall over in the street and the ambulance picks us up and takes us to the NHS

If we want to stop some arsehole making a public nuisance of themselves we have to call the police - and then the NHS because we were assaulted

If we fail to get an good education because we played truant all day - we can sue teh Education department for failing to educate us.

If we can't get a job becuase we are not educated & too drunk and abusive we can sue the local council for not caring for us and any employer for discrimination.

If we were to take care of ourselves - erm - eh - how do I do that?

Sad relection on the sort of society that has evolved to take care of teh weak and the poor.

[info]newquay101 wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 07:49 am (UTC)
Newquay should not be given a bad name, because of the acts of foolish 16 year olds. As a local, and someone who is involved with holiday cottages in Newquay it is going to be very hard and perhaps near impossible to stop 16 year old's celebrating their exams from drinking. Even with stricter ID policies in the town and the supermarkets, these teenagers can bring alcohol down to the town with them (probably swiping it unnoticed from their parent's drinks cabinets!). Aswell as now with the possibility today of ordering shopping online for delivery using their PARENTS credit cards, this also invents a new way of teens getting alcohol underage and unchecked. So where should the blame lie? From previous experience, parents are often unwilling to accept that their children have been drinking underage and as soon as the suggestion is made become very defensive. Perhaps due to some major underlying guilt? Cliffs are dangerous, and for the most part can be easily avoided. The reason most of these teens are near cliffs is probably because they have been drinking on the beaches - something which is not encouraged and is regularly enforced by police patrols at night. So perhaps, one solution would just be to encourage them to drink in town and stay away from the beaches and cliffsides. But there would never be any guarentee of safety. A point parents must realise this when they agree to their children going away. If they don't, and they really are oblivious to the underage drinking situation across this country NOT just in Newquay, then they should wake up and not let their children go away for a week unaccompanied. Or, if they do, somewhere in the midlands far, far away from cliffs.
Boycott Newquay, says dead boy's stepmum
[info]watcher4272 wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 07:50 am (UTC)
I'm sorry but what was a 16 year old BOY doing in Newquay unacompanied by an ADULT?

I don't think the blame, if there should be any (?) lies at the door of Newquay?

RJD
Cornwall
Re: Boycott Newquay, says dead boy's stepmum
[info]fastguyeddie wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 08:41 am (UTC)
Yes and I've never seen underage drinking in Wokingham;
you can tell with this much hypocrisy that its a staunch Tory area
[info]jaffgyp wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 07:51 am (UTC)
'stop under-age drinking and fence off the cliffs'!!! - ok and lets lock all the teenagers up for the duration of the summer while we are at it...; what a sad world kids now grow up in where they are never expected to be responsible for their own (let alone others') welfare and whatever goes wrong its always somebody else's fault...
most town centres are now alcohol fuelled pig pens on weekend nights, accurately reflecting the standards of behaviour which the parents of teenagers (and the hordes of pathetic 30 year old teenagers) apparently find perfectly acceptable;
good behaviour and accepting responsibility for one's own actions start at home, long before reaching the dreaded teenage years
nanny state
[info]bowesy wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 08:17 am (UTC)
And what exactly were his parents expecting him to do? Whilst very sad this "campaign"would be better focussed on accepting responsibility and proper parenting. What has happened after 12 years of nanny state nulabour to make people feel they have no responsibility at all and it is always someone elses fault.

The responsibility here is that of the parents and the child - who all seem to have failed.

How about less boycotting and more parenting.
GCSEs
[info]newgrimreaper wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 08:32 am (UTC)
It's time we had a new GCSE at school. How to walk along cliffs while pissed out of your skull. Make it compulsory for all pupils. Come on Shireen Higgins your brought up Paddy to be a dumb brat, your fault not Newquays.
Re: GCSEs
[info]unknown5336 wrote:
Saturday, 11 July 2009 at 12:00 pm (UTC)
i am friends with a lot of people who were very close to paddy and i have met him before, i also went to newquay in the same week that it happened. this was a terrible accident and i dont think you should be saying these sort of things! keep your opinion to yourself, people are in a terrible state after what has happened and you call him a dumb brat?! if you saw what goes on in newquay at night you would be calling everybody a dumb brat! paddy didnt deserve to die, its people like you with these opinions that do!!
Self Discipline
[info]respectedgraham wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 08:59 am (UTC)
A tragic case but one can not 'fence off' nature ( cliffs, rivers and mountains etc.) because of the irresponsible behaviour of a few. Very little is done to encourage better behaviour from the masses (knifing, drug overdose, joyriding accident etc.) until something tragic happens when everyone involved wants to set up an 'internet site' or a 'movement against....'. in memory of the victims.
Newquay
[info]daismallcoal wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 09:03 am (UTC)
Desperately sorry for family of lost young men.

But as father of 3 boys, and Secretary of a Welsh rugby club, I remain a 'fan' of Newquay precisely because of its relatively tolerant attitudes . I agree with many other posts here

I have taken literally dozens of groups of young men 16 - 19 years old on tour to Newquay over 20 years with little if any real problem. We looked after them !

Yes the bars should apply the same age limits for drinking as elsewhere, but youngsters can get booze if they want to.

The answer is in the bringing up of the young people to treat alcohol properly,

Oh and you can't fence off all the cliff edges in Cornwall !
Why Boycott Newquay!
[info]jayneb wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 09:21 am (UTC)
Shouldn't the parents take some responsibility!!! 16 years of age, camping, partying - did they think he wouldn't drink too!!! I agree that he shouldn't be served alcohol, but they have to share the blame equally - Telling people to Boycott Newquay is like telling your 16 year old to have fun there & don't drink with your mates while you are partying, its not going to happen!!!
False accusations
[info]bobbellinhell wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 09:33 am (UTC)
I urge all readers of any age to boycott all retail outlets with a record of falsely accusing customers of being under 18. New Labour intend to pressure shops into raising the false accusation age to 25 over the next few weeks, and we need to apply pressure in the opposite direction.
Re: False accusations
[info]rustybees wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 05:25 pm (UTC)
Just waiting for New Labour to get the blame! Bobbelinhell why is there fault?? Do you think they pushed him??
"Blame Newquay" say the parents
[info]jwilliams2008 wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 09:58 am (UTC)
When really they only have themselves to blame.

If they're stupid enough to let their children go down to newquay then its their own fault.

As a person from newquay we hate all these under age kids coming here and causing problems.

I have never seen any of this "advertising" promoting it as an underage hotspot for getting served drinks.

Like dave meredith said of the police, simple advice....

AVOID THE CLIFFS!!!!

Also / There are fences around all the cliffs, he must have climbed over one.
[info]bundubasher wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 10:37 am (UTC)
Boycott Newquay because parents did not raise their kid not to over indulge on the glug.

Absurd.!!I hate stupid irresponsible people who blame places or other people for their own failings.
If mummy was so concerned
[info]kuma2000 wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 11:01 am (UTC)
She should have taken her little son away to celebrate his GCSEs. "Mummy, can I have a Sambuca?". "No, you can have a glass of lemonade until you are a big boy". Right. For all we know at 16 young Paddy could already be a seasoned drinker - we are regularly told stories like "50% of 10 year olds get hammered twice a week". Mrs Higgins is a little naive if she thinks that Newquay is a seedy little corner of Britain where they turn a blind eye to underage drinking.
There is also no indication in this story that the boy's fall from the cliff was alcohol related - since another older youth fell off the cliff recently it could be implied that a footpath without barriers and adequate warnings near the cliff edge is responsible although there is one comment here that says there is a barrier? Surely this path is well trodden by the legally drunk year in and year out?

I'm living in France at the moment and Saturday night in town is so different to a Saturday night in Reading. Its just as busy as back in Reading, perhaps busier but there are a wide cross-section of people of all ages. You do get wild displays of youngsters' exuberance, but this is because these 7 and 8 year olds are excited at being out with their parents at midnight, not because they don't have school tomorrow and have just polished off a few bottles of Asda value cider and are looking for someone to fight. You don't really see anyone out of their tree (except of course the Poles who live in the same block as me - you can lead a Pole to water but he'll still prefer vodka) and most refreshingly you do not find that air of threat that hangs so pervasively in the air in any British town centre on a Saturday evening.
Re: If mummy was so concerned
[info]pole_engineer wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 07:35 pm (UTC)
kumma2000 - you're sad, frustrated man that posts offending comments for 10hrs every day. c'mon find yourself interesting girlfrien or a boyfriend- have a life....

i have to again defed the poles here following your homophobic post full of simplifications - and I can do it by just posting 2 links to articles about your kind behaving in poland


http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/blogs/2008/03/cracow-bars-told-not-to-serve-1.html
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=109655&in_page_id=34

.. but I know you shouldn't judge the nation by behavoiur of minority

you're an asshole

the pole
Re: If mummy was so concerned
[info]kuma2000 wrote:
Sunday, 12 July 2009 at 01:10 am (UTC)
Homophobic? When did I say Poles were a bunch of gays? I merely said that in my experience Poles enjoy heavy drinking. Back home in the UK I live in a fairly Polish area - we have about 10-15 Polish stores (padded out with alcohol in the windows) and a Polish pub; getting home in the evening the benches outside the station were already full of local Poles with vodka and beer half-pissed already - walk the rest of the way home noticing discarded Lech cans everywhere. We live in a one way street and regularly have cars drive up the wrong way - I along with several neighbours have lost wing mirrors due to these drivers - one of my neighbours saw it and followed the driver who turned out to be Polish and could not walk when he got out of his car - from what we can gather in Poland drinking and driving are things which are not mutually exclusive. Here in France I've twice came across Polish neighbours who had drank so much they could not walk and could only just stand up. I never said all Poles are alcoholics, just that in general Poles enjoy heavy drinking, but my intention was not to imply all Poles are drunks - I never heard of Pope Jean-Paul getting hammered for a start.
My post is also not meant to imply Britain is a nation of teetotallers, it saddens me to see the alcohol abuse so rife in Britain these days. I'm glad you have made the connection that I am a heavy drinking nudist abroad - your sharp eyes spot the details others would miss. Why can't people just have a few quiet beers and chill?
As for your comment on me getting a nice girl or boyfriend I'll mention it to my wife and see if she agrees.
Boycott Newquay, says dead boy's stepmum
[info]remdataram wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 12:56 pm (UTC)
Did the Parents think he was going to Newquay for tea and scones?

It's time people started taking responsibility for their (in)actions, rather than blaming everyone else.

If you don't want your child boozing, don't let him go to Newquay.

You don't go on safari and complain about the wildlife.

Drinking
[info]jsknight100 wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 10:23 pm (UTC)
Why is it no one is prepared to take responsibility for their own actions no forced the unfortunate young man to drink!
This nfortunate tradegy
[info]sanity2009 wrote:
Friday, 10 July 2009 at 11:19 pm (UTC)
Having read the many posts on this a number of points become strickingly obvious.

Paddy Higgns is no saint or sinner, merely a normal young manthat provides a typical example of the tradegy that results from a combination of avoidable issues. There is clearly a polarisation of views with each attempting to justify there own position. If Paddys death is not to be in vain, each component needs to accept its own responsibility to avoid a repetition.

Parents need to accept responsibility and conduct some foirm of due dilligence before allowing there children to go away on trips.
The young adults need to behave in the way they claim they are - ie adults, and not abuse the freedom this type of holiday offers.
Those promoting the 'exodus break' need to get real about how it is interpreted by 16 year olds. Why do these youths go to Newquay - mainly because they are too young for foreign destinations - why not increase the minimum age for booking to 18?
The businesses profiteering from this trade need to accept their own responsibilities.
And finally, if the local authority cannot guarantee adherence to minimum drinking age requirements they need to make the location safer.

Until everyone accepts their own responsibility, the sad events that have surrounded Paddys death will be repeated year on year. If the residents ofd Newquay truly do not want this trade then make it unnatractive for these young people to goi there. Or perhaps, business and profit really dictates that this income despite protestations to the contary, is too giood to give up.

As for Paddy, I have no doubt that despite the media coverage, he was a decent, well like boy who just did what many others do, but unfortunately drew the wrong card.

Until we all accept responsibility unfortunately Paddy will not be the last to suffer this terrible fate
Newquay
[info]derekcolman wrote:
Saturday, 11 July 2009 at 01:05 am (UTC)
Fencing in the cliffs will make no difference. Here in Norwich we have a relatively new bar and nightclub area called Riverside, which obviously is beside the river. After a couple of young people fell in and drowned the council fenced in the river bank in response to public pressure. It has not made any difference, they just climb over, fall in and drown. If you give your 16 y.o. the money to go to Newquay with it's well known reputation you are asking for trouble. 16 year olds are still children and should be accompanied by their parents or older siblings when they go on holiday. We are always reading about young teenagers getting stabbed, robbed, raped and murdered in the early hours. That is down to abdication of parental responsibility by idiot parents who want to be their teenagers friend instead of parent. Parents take note, your 16 or younger children should be safely tucked up in bed by midnight. You can let them off the leash when they reach 18.
rip paddy x
[info]unknown5336 wrote:
Saturday, 11 July 2009 at 12:05 pm (UTC)
all of these comments are making me so angry! noone should be calling him stupid or the council stupid or whatever, we should be putting our thoughts with his family and friends not arguing over what happened! it was a terrible accident and people who are blaming the parents and paddy should be ashamed of themseleves! if you saw what state my friends are in you wouldnt even be thinking of half the things you have said! your all selfish and stupid yourseleves!!
Boycott Newquay
[info]doll9 wrote:
Saturday, 11 July 2009 at 10:43 pm (UTC)
I grew up in Newquay and all this talk of what a terrible place Newquay is makes me wonder how I survived my teenage years. It is a terrible tragedy and the family must be devastated. I too am a mother and my heart goes out to them. However, these types of incidents will probably not go away whilst children aged 15 and 16 years are allowed to holiday on their own. If parents are happy for them to act responsibly unsupervised then please do not expect the town to provide them with babysitters. If they are being allowed to act like adults then they need to start taking responsibility for their own actions and stop expecting the rest of the world to safeguard them. I cannot speak for the town but I know a lot of people who would welcome a boycott of Newquay by these youngsters unless maybe they were holidaying with their parents.
Our thoughts go out to Paddy's family and friends
[info]plain_j01 wrote:
Sunday, 12 July 2009 at 07:26 am (UTC)
My daughter was on the beach that night having a barbeque with her friends, celebrating finishing their GCSE's when they were called over by a girl to come and help. She and her friends ran over to help Paddy, called the ambulance and had to wait 20 mins for the ambulance to arrive. They all tried really hard to help Paddy, the stress and experience of the situation will stay with her all her life. It has changed her whole idea of alcohol and she never wants to go to Newquay ever again. As a mother I never wanted her to go in the first place but felt I had to let her grow up and experience somethings for herself. The ripple effect of this experience will stay with her group of friend forever. We feel so desperately sorry for the family of Patrick and would like to send our sincere condolenses to them. We support any stronger regulation of alcohol in Newquay and would wish some safety investigation on the cliff top.
Britons are the worst-behaved tourists in Europe - but the French are the most disliked worldwide, a
[info]famulla wrote:
Sunday, 12 July 2009 at 01:46 pm (UTC)
Lewis Smith Britons are the worst-behaved tourists in Europe - but the French are the most disliked worldwide, according to a new survey.
"They were in here drinking but there is no way we would served them sambuca," he is reported as saying. We ID everyone and people are only allowed to drink with a meal. This is a family restaurant." The owner of the Indian Express restaurant in Newquay's Central Square, where Paddy and his friends were photographed, denied the group was served sambuca..Inspector Dave Meredith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, urged people visiting pubs and clubs in the town to use buses and taxis rather than walk near the cliff edges. Why dont you just close thes or fence these. The drunks will go anywhere
Mr. Patel please if you are stying in UK you can at least lose some cash one day but why not tell all. One day it may be your son. Just because you are Indian making money since long paying low salaries to all what do you expect from the waiters? You better go to the Police and tell all It will help them to stop the more knife murders and balls knocked off I thank you sir
Firozali A Mulla IN the meantime BOYCOT Mr. Patel and his pals


typical reaction from a middle class Berkshire mother
[info]nixcails wrote:
Monday, 13 July 2009 at 10:15 am (UTC)
Why does the fact that she's from Wokingham not surprise me, the middle class shit hole full of parents who think their children are little darlings when usually they are the social parasites commiting crimes and behaving irresponsibly.
It's not Newquay's fault that lad died, it HER fault.- clearly as parents they never thought of installing a attitude of self preservation, responsibility or self discipline into their son. They also decided to throw money at him and allow him to go on a young lads binge drinking and shagging weekend. When I was that age my wages from my various student jobs would have barely covered the costs for binge drinking, and even at todays prices clearly to have got so inebriated he would have had to have had access to a decent enough bank balance no doubt paid for by a Mummy and Daddy who had no time to teach their child self respect, self discipline and social responsibilty.
Yes it's sad and bad that a young lad died, but as others have said it's not the fault of the Cornish or residents of Newquay, it's the fault of Middle class English idiots who can't bring their children up properly.
[info]unknown5336 wrote:
Monday, 13 July 2009 at 12:16 pm (UTC)
everybody thats abusing paddy & his parents you should all be ashamed of yourself!!! your thoughts should be with his family and friends, not on here arguing about whos fault it is! if something like this happened to someone close to you, you wouldnt even be thinking of half the things you've said on here! theres one word for comments like some of these, SELFISH!
[info]nixcails wrote:
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 at 12:06 am (UTC)
Its not selfish when it's the tax payers and council taxpayers of the South West who are picking up the bill for the extra policing, and emergency services provision that these louts of moronic parents and people with no common sense, self respect or social responsibilty generate. She doesn't deserve to have kids. another good reason to bomb Berkshire and the Berks in the county.
[info]gh2411 wrote:
Monday, 13 July 2009 at 12:55 pm (UTC)
it shouldn't be newquay that has to change, it is parents such as these who let their 16 year old boy go away on his own to a party capital with a group of friends to do what ever they like. they are not legal to drink, yet the father says he knew he would try. 16 year old children should not be allowed to holiday alone, with no adult supervision what so ever. i am shocked at the response that neguay should change!! disgraceful!
Ridiculous...
[info]user16_1983 wrote:
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 at 01:13 am (UTC)
I, like many teenagers before and after me, went down to Newquay over the summer a few years ago to celebrate the end of my AS exams, and managed to survive a week without falling off a cliff. In fact, I never even saw the cliffs. I drank (albeit underage) I danced, I stayed up late, I celebrated with my friends in the clubs and bars of the town and we all returned home safely. Whilst I certainly drank during that week, I was also sensible enough not to combine alcohol with clifftops.

Whilst it is undeniable that his death is a tragic waste, what good will come of blaming the town of Newquay? Young people will always want to celebrate summer with their peers. Parents individually have to ascertain whether their own child is capable of looking after themselves and their friends whilst unsupervised. If they have any doubts, then they simply should not be allowed to go. I'm sure my Mum had her concerns about me visiting Newquay, but I'm also sure that she knew I wasn't totally reckless and irresponsible and wouldn't mess about on cliffs whilst I'd been drinking.

Paddy's family are understandably distraught and perhaps this is why they are angrily lashing out, rather than accepting that their faith in their son's abilility to take care of himself was misplaced.


[info]ariddley wrote:
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 at 04:25 am (UTC)
It's sad to see some of the comments below - from people that don't know the individudals involved. I didn't know Paddy, but I do know his father - he used to teach me 15 years ago and all I can say is he was an outstanding role model and I dare say he still is. He was heavily involed in the six form in terms of sporting events etc and was the first to realise that teenagers want to cut loose but was a very responsible person when it came to alcohol consumption.

What riles me about this tragedy was the serving of powerful of spirits. It is completely irresponsible of the restaurant owners.

Maybe it's time to bring in a new split-level law - whereby only low % alcohol drinks like beer can be purchased by people aged under 21? That way teenagers can still have their fun, but are not so exposed to the devastating consequences that come hand in hand with extreme intoxication.
[info]nickyy_xox wrote:
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 at 09:15 am (UTC)
i think thw comment that says 'We just weren't stupid enough to throw ourselves over Cliffs' is absoloutley out of order, you have to remember this family hve just lost a 16 year old member of their family, put yourself in that position imagine loosing your son! This only happend a week ago so obviously the family are still grieveing! how dare anyone say she is wrong to blame other people or factors, when your grieving or upset you blame everyone and everything, i bet the family are beside themselves so please have some respect at this difficult time!
boycott newquay
[info]mother01 wrote:
Wednesday, 15 July 2009 at 10:53 am (UTC)
What has happened here in Newquay is extremly sad and i cannot imagine and would never want to either how these parents must be feeling and going through right now.
I have two teenage children ages 18 16, the older one does not drink at all and has no interest in even though his friends do my younger on the other hand has tried it but we have always tried to have a sensible approach yes youngster will drink. She goes out to some of the places that the teenagers come down here to Newquay for, she has told me they drink loads which they bring with them they have false ID's or older brother and sister's id's. We are now being told that false id's are being sold here in Newquay well if thats the case why do my daughter and her friends have no idea about them yes you could say she tell me what she wants but she is happy being 16 and knows the clubs will still be there when she's old enough. I will not send my daughter away when she finishes her exams because i do not feel at that age they are responsible enough she has good manners and respects people but i feel we have a responsabilty as parents to make sure when we send them out into the world they know of the dangers out there they respect other people their way of life and culture.
It makes me really angry that Newquay have been blamed for not doing enough why don't these parents who are complaining come down here for a weekend and see just how badly their children behave and then they have every right to complain. I would not want to be a police officer or any of the youth workers that go out and have to take the abuse and disgusting behaivour that i have seen from some of them, but there are also some really well behaved teenagers that come down as i have seen many times in my job and its a shame that a small minority spoil it for the majority. So come on parents remember we have to take some of the blame for how our children act when they go our in the world.
if you saw what goes on in newquay
[info]newgrimreaper wrote:
Tuesday, 21 July 2009 at 05:53 pm (UTC)
unknown5336 quote: ?! if you saw what goes on in newquay at night you would be calling everybody a dumb brat!

So it's not just Paddy who was a dumb brat then ?

How come it's your friend that's not dumb but everyone else is.

I don't suppose you'd include yourself in everybody ?
Dangers are everywhere when under the influence
[info]meggynmurdoch wrote:
Monday, 3 August 2009 at 10:37 am (UTC)
Firstly, can I express my deepest sympathy with the family and friends of Patrick. This is a terrible loss and although I don't have children myself, I have friends who do, specifically one who has an 18 yr old son, so I can imagine how devastated you must be.

I felt I had to post something here as I have just returned from a weekend in Newquay. I had a great time. The scenery is stunning, the townfolk really friendly and the nightlife very busy. It reminded me very much of being on holiday in Majorca in my late teens. Now being a 37 yr old female, I went down with some friends as we wanted a 'girlie weekend' together to relax and have a good time, which included going to a few bars. I had been to Newquay last year on a hen weekend so this prompted my return this year as I had a great time last year also.

My point I wanted to make is that Newquay cannot be blamed for this. To be honest, no one can. It is a tragic accident but understandably the parents want to blame something or someone. They are grieving for the loss of their child so I think it is wrong to critise them for that. Unless you have lost a child you will not be able to understand what they are going through.

These tragic accidents happen in life unfortunately. I originally come from a seaside town in Scotland and growing up I did a bit of underage drinking, sometimes at the beach. One of the main hazards is the sea itself and there have been countless incidents where people of all ages, not just teenagers, have lost their lives swimming while under the influence of alcohol. But there are dangers everywhere when people are under the influence. I have read stories of people being hit by cars as they wander home drunk and have stumbled on the road. The common denominator here is the alcohol taken to excess.

What I suppose I am trying to say is that rather than boycotting Newquay, should the focus not be put on empowering young people with the advice about the dangers of being there with regards to the cliffs and the sea, especially when alcohol is involved. As I think someone said in another post, if you are not familiar with the sea side you will not be as aware of the dangers that are there. If you ban the young people from being there they will simply go somewhere else, like we all did when we were young. There are plenty of other beaches to camp at or lochs for example which again hold dangers for swimming in if you have consumed too much alcohol.

As a society, for many young (and older) people being able to go out and enjoy yourself means going out and consuming lots of alcohol. Many of us will have done this and just been lucky enough to not have got into any dangerous situations.

My advice for anyone with teenagers going to any seaside resort with friends would be to drum in the dangers of taking alcohol to the excess while in these places. But on top of that to drum in the dangers of excessive drinking at anytime. I had it drummed into me but at the end of the day, kids will drink, some will drink far too much and the majority will only have to suffer a rotten hangover the next day or the rath of very unhappy parents.

In Britain unfortunately until the attitude to having a good time is changed with regards to the consumption of too much alcohol, there will be other cases of deaths by accidents when the people involved have drank too much.

Finally, Patrick appears to have been just a normal teenage boy, out with friends enjoying himself after his exams. Many people go out and enjoy themselves and take too much alcohol (not just young people!), so to blame him also is ridiculous. I believe the phrase is 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone' should apply here.

Lets hope that what has happened to Patrick will have left a mark on other people (young and older alike) who drink to much to remind them of the tragedy that can happen.

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