Teenager falls to her death on night walk

A girl aged 16 died and a woman of 30 was seriously injured when they fell down 260ft cliffs during a night walk.

Terri Ann Ellwood was killed in the fall from cliffs near the Blue Dolphin holiday camp, at Filey, North Yorkshire, at about 12.45am yesterday, police said.

A woman, from Sunderland, also fell and suffered severe leg injuries. She was rescued by coastguard officers - who wentdown the cliff using ropes - and by a lifeboat crew.

A helicopter from RAF Leconfield aided the rescue with police and paramedics. The woman was in Scarborough Hospital last night, where she had surgery. She was said to be "comfortable".

Miss Ellwood, from Peterlee, Co Durham, and the injured woman were accompanied by a boy, 16, also from Peterlee, and another woman, from Sunderland. A police spokesman said the group was walking along a cliff top path when the accident happened, but could not give any further details.

A spokesman for the Humber Coastguard said: "Coastguards assisted two females last night after receiving a call from ambulance control to report that two people had fallen from cliffs north of Filey.

"Humber Coastguard requested Scarborough and Filey Coastguard rescue teams, Filey Inshore Lifeboat and Filey all-weather lifeboat to go to the scene. A rescue helicopter was also requested to scramble. Police were also on scene. One of the females sustained some injuries in the fall, but sadly the second female was a fatality."

Police were investigating on behalf of the coroner.