Woman in Northumberland cliff fall horror as weather causes chaos

Aug 7 2011 by Dan Warburton, Sunday Sun

A WOMAN plunged to her death from a 30ft cliff as the region was battered with flash floods and lightning.

Emergency crews were scrambled at 2.20pm after the woman, believed to be in her 30s, fell onto rocks at North Sunderland Point, in Seahouses, Northumberland.

Helicopter crews from the Great North Air Ambulance and RAF Boulmer were stood down after it emerged desperate efforts to save her life had failed.

Cops last night confirmed they had launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances surrounding her death, but it is believed she slipped before plummeting from the cliff’s edge.

A spokeswoman for the coastguard said: “The weather was poor on arrival but it did not hamper our efforts to reach the scene.

“She fell about 30ft but we don’t really know at this time exactly what happened. The inshore lifeboat was deployed from Seahouses, the police were and also the Air Ambulance.”

The tragedy came as flash floods caused chaos across the region with more than 70 millimetres of rain falling in just six hours.

Newcastle’s glamorous European showdown with Fiorentina was abandoned after 64 minutes as St James’s Park became unplayable because of the treacherous conditions.

Referee Mark Halsey led the players from the pitch with the teams still at a 0-0 deadlock just after the half-time interval.

Toon boss Alan Pardew said: “It’s frustrating but there isn’t a lot you can do about the weather. The rain just wouldn’t stop and we were worried about injuries.

“There was a tackle on Cabaye out there which had my heart in my mouth. It was the right decision to call it off.”