Girl's parents lose Marchioness case

The parents of the Marchioness pleasure boat disaster victim Francesca Dallaglio yesterday failed to win an increase in the pounds 34,000 damages awarded last year for the loss of their 19-year-old ballerina daughter.

The Court of Appeal upheld Mr Justice Latham's High Court ruling that there was no secure evidence that Francesca would have provided a regular income for Vincenzo Dallaglio, 61, and his wife Eileen, 58, of Barnes, south-west London.

The couple, whose son Lawrence is an England rugby player, won the damages against the owners of the Marchioness and of the dredger Bowbelle, which ploughed into it on the Thames near Southwark Bridge on 20 August, 1989, with the loss of 51 lives.