Newquay braces itself for another weekend of celebrating teenagers (From Falmouth Packet)

Newquay braces itself for another weekend of celebrating teenagers

9:30am Friday 10th July 2009

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Newquay is bracing itself for another weekend of partying youngsters as parents want the resort made safe for revellers.

The move follows the death of Paddy Higgins, 16, a pupil at Forest School near Wokingham, who was in Newquay celebrating the end of his GCSE exams. He was declared dead on Tolcarne beach after apparently falling from cliffs.

His step-mother Shireen Higgins said parents should boycott the town until safety measures are put in place.

The resort’s council say Newquay does make the resort safe but Mrs Higgins said: “As a family, we do not want any other family to have to go through what we are suffering.”

Most of the teenagers currently enjoying the resort at students just completing their GCSE exams and for many it is the first time away from home without adults.

Mrs Higgins claims some venues in the town sold alcohol to youngsters without asking for proof-of-age identification.

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “Newquay is a safe place as long as you come here with a degree of common sense and a degree of responsibility.

“Two thousand to 3,000 under-18-year-olds visit [the town], however, we have got operation Exodus, which is set up specifically to manage this.”

Two people have died in Newquay in the past month and one was seriously injured after a cliff fall.

Police patrols are regular in the resort throughout the summer and pubs and clubs are left in no doubt about the rules of selling alcohol.

Newquay's mayor John Fitter said: “All we can do is to ensure that they are safe and ensure that they behave themselves.”

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