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Tributes have poured in for Paddy Higgins, pictured centre with his pals in Newquay hours before he died
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Paddy Higgins' family call for Newquay boycott

By Alice Murphy
July 10, 2009

The family of tragic teenager Paddy Higgins have launched a campaign to prevent further teenage deaths in Newquay.

Shireen Higgins, the stepmum of 16-year-old Paddy, who died after falling from a cliff at the seaside resort in the early hours of Monday, has launched a campaign with her family to prevent other parents going through such a tragedy.

A page called ‘Boycott Newquay holidays for teenagers’ has been set up on networking site Facebook to raise awareness of the dangers.

Naomi and Tom Barbour, Paddy’s stepbrother and sister, have set up the group, which has already attracted 1,500 supporters.

Meanwhile, friends of the youngster have been paying emotional tributes to their friend.

Gifted Paddy Higgins was a 'fantastic lad'

More than 1,500 devastated pals have filled a memorial page on

Facebook with messages of grief and expressing support for his family.

One tribute said: “You were so caring and happy all the time and will never be forgotten.”

Another said: “Loved and known by everyone. Never be forgotten and always missed. You made a difference to everyone who knew you, I’m just glad I got to know you, you were an amazing person.”

One commented: “The amount of members show how popular this amazing person was.”

The seaside town is feted as a hotspot for post-GCSE and A-level holidays but under-age teenagers are being sold alcohol.

Mrs Higgins said: “We have set up the site to warn other parents about teenagers going unsupervised.

“Newquay markets itself as the teenage party capital but as a family we do not want any other family to have to go through what we are suffering.

“We would like the drinking age ideally to be raised to 21 and have better fencing on the cliffs.

“Until then, we are trying to boycott Newquay.”

She said the cliffs in the town are unfenced, teenagers are encouraged to party hard and the clubs, bars and restaurants sell alcohol without asking teens for ID first.

Mrs Higgins said: “Our children these days want it all and now and have the money to do so, which we didn’t have in our day.

“They should not have access to all the alcohol they have at 16.

“We have evidence that Patrick was able to purchase a round of sambuccas and Corona beer in a restaurant without ID.”

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I am so, so sorry for the loss of such a lovely boy. I have an 18 year old who was the unprovoked victim of a dreadful assault 4 years ago, he survived, but the outcome could have been so very different, the ongoing physical effects are extensive and expensive and the mental effects will never go, it will stay with me for the rest of my life and i just can't comprehend what Paddy's family are going through, crying as i write this, but i wish them peace, the knowledge that he will be with God and that one day they will be reunited.

Cati Heward
20/01/2011 at 23:27

Firstly let me say, I honestly feel for your loss - as a parent myself. In my opinion, I feel it is completely and utterly unreasonable to expect the townsfolk of Newquay and all the people who come to this beautiful resort to have to put up with being locked off the beaches after 8pm. This would mean no beach parties, no families ect allowed on the beaches after 8pm for any reason, local surfers restricted from the enjoyment of their YEAR round sport and ugly gates at the top of every beach access, this would only force the more dedicated surfers and partygoers into finding more treacherous routes to the waves/beach. Maybe before a finger is pointed at the town, its authorities and local residents - who you obviously hold accountable for the tragic death of your son. Maybe he shouldn't have been allowed to holiday without adult supervision. Nobody twisted his arm to drink the spirits you have spoken about in your interviews and lets face it this could have happened in any town, unfortunately it happened in our town. I appreciate this must sound callous but we've grown up here and our children too and we've not come to much harm and we're not prepared to standby and watch our town and our livelyhoods take a slating because a lack of common sense. I hope that no tragedy happens in your town, whereby you will experience the negativity that Newquay has been subjected to. My condolences all the same.

steve pendleton
24/07/2009 at 19:22

Firstly, I'd like to pass my condolences on to Paddy's family. I can't for one minute imagine what they are going through right now. But blaming Newquay is not the answer. It's true the cliff edges are not a safe place to be...but most of them, including the area were Paddy's accident happened, are fenced. What needs to be highlighted is underage binge drinking. Accidents can happen anywhere, especially while under the influence of alcohol. And underage drinking is a problem all over the UK not just Newquay. I don't think it's fair to boycott Newquay, I do however feel that 16 year olds should not be encouraged to come to Newquay on holiday unsupervised.

DM Newquay, Newquay
14/07/2009 at 12:43

Please don't come to Newquay if you cannot behave in a responsible manner. Do the parents of the children that come to party here really believe that their sons and daughters wont drink and will behave in an adult way? This is a good town and we will make you welcome if you want to come here and party or holiday in a manner that doesn't offend others, if not then stay away and party in your home town. John J. Newquay

johnj
13/07/2009 at 19:59

It's about time that premises selling alcohol illegally had their licences removed permanently.

I Ron
13/07/2009 at 16:30

I feel sorry for the residents of Newquay, it must be a nightmare to live there. I would support a boycott by the drunken children who make life a misery for others. The parents and the children must accept responsibility for their actions- don't blame what was a beautiful holiday destination

devonlife
13/07/2009 at 15:51

Of course I don't think binge drinking is a myth. It is only a very small percentage of drinkers who do binge drink - mainly young people. Maybe you think responsible drinking is a myth?

Hugh Janus, Reading
13/07/2009 at 13:39

Marcella. If you don't like the UK try Saudi Arabia.

I Ron
13/07/2009 at 13:05

You just need to go to the town centre in the evening or even Oxford Road during the daytime to see that large sections of society are unable to drink responsibly. Do you think that binge drinking is some kind of myth?

Marcella, Reading
13/07/2009 at 13:02

Marcella - what a load of old nonsense! Do you really think that if we all stopped drinking that there would never be an accident ever again?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with drinking responsibly like most people do. Besides, it could have easily been an adult that this happened to and (as someone else on here said) if he had been just two years older this debate wouldn't even be taking place. Religion has nothing to do with it.

Hugh Janus, Reading
13/07/2009 at 11:50

A sad story and i do feel for the parents but this blame culture ......... Paddy was 16 and still a boy he could get booze in Reading and did as other youths do the country over and its not just Newquay. At 16 he was still the responsibity of his parents not waiters!!!!!! a accident that could happen anywhere ..... RIP PADDY

Cornish warrior, Cornwall
13/07/2009 at 08:23

Imagine how many less tragedies there would be if we followed the islamic line and didn't drink alcohol full stop. Just forget your racist comments and snide remarks about islam for a minute and think about how much better society would be. A death like this would not have occured and I know that a hell of a lot more children would grow up in stable families and at least know who their father are.

Marcella, Reading
13/07/2009 at 07:34

This is a terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the parents. I too am a mother and can't even begin to imagine the devastation this must have caused. However, reading all the comments on the news reports about campaigns to put up even more fences and signs on the cliff tops of Newquay makes me wonder how I ever survived growing up in the town. In all my 40 years of living in Newquay, from school years to adulthood, I have never heard of anyone accidently falling off the cliff. Yes, in more recent years there has been tragic incidents, some intentional but living here we were taught to understand the dangers of the cliffs and the sea. The sad thing is, these incidents will probably continue to happen, fences or no fences, whilst the age of teenagers holidaying without supervision gets lower and lower. It used to be university students, now it is children aged 15 and 16. Even if young teenagers could not get served, they would get hold of alcohol somehow. I cannot speak for the town but I know a lot of people who would welcome a boycott of the town by the youngsters unless maybe they were holidaying with their parents. At the end of the day, if children are given the responsibility of holidaying on their own then these children must also take on the responsibility of their own actions.

BET, Newquay
11/07/2009 at 22:12

What a sad and useless lose of a young life. But when I was 16 years old, I wasn't a young man, I was a schoolboy and although I did drink then, the idea of travelling to Cornwall to go on a "bender wouldn't have crossed my mind... Two reasons : I couldn't have financed it myself, and my parents wouldn't have even entertained the idea

No use in pointing fingers now, and teenagers have and will push the boundries to the limit. Perhaps its our job as adults and parents to make sure they know just how far they can go and to take on our role of responsabily

TIM HILLS
11/07/2009 at 13:36

The reason many people come to Cornwall is to see the beautiful coastline, which would be a lot less beautiful with fencing all around, and who's going to pay for it? Many of us manage to walk on coastal cliff paths every day without problems.

The other reason many of the younger element come to Cornwall, particularly Newquay, is the drinking culture.

Don't come here for the attractions and then blame them for other's misfortunes.