Pub crawl ended in cliff tragedy

Andrew Curwell

Rugby starlet died in 100ft fall at Cornish resort

A PROMISING young rugby player from Delph fell to his death after an organised pub crawl in a Cornish seaside town.

Andrew Curwell (18) was on his first visit to Newquay when he stumbled over a garden wall and fell 100ft in the early hours of June 28 last year.

Apparently lost as he searched for his wallet, and after drinking alco-pops, beers and chasers on a paid-for pub crawl, he lost his footing and fell over the precipice.

Andrew played for Saddleworth Rangers before joining the Leeds Rhinos Academy in 2007.

He was one of two fatalities last summer in the town, both young men out drinking.

Sixteen-year-old Paddy Higgins died after going out in Newquay to celebrate the end of his GCSE exams.

A third boy, never named, suffered “life-changing” injuries after falling down a cliff.

An inquest in Truro yesterday heard from two of Andrew’s friends who said they had paid VIP Pub Crawls £5 for a night of drinking games and free shots.

Their 6ft 4in pal, whose tearful mother Janet told the court he was not used to drinking, lost his wallet and split up from his 12 friends.

He phoned friend Robin Kitchen shortly after midnight as he looked for the wallet.

He wandered into the grounds of a large house by a hotel and most likely stepped over a garden wall which had a sheer 100ft cliff drop.

Mr Kitchen (19) told the court: “We went to Bar Help at 8pm and at about that time we started a bar crawl organised by VIP.

“They organised a pub crawl for about 50 people to go to different pubs and do drinking games. There was a free shot with every drink. We went to Sailors, On the Rocks, Barracuda and Corkers.

“Andrew tried to get into the Beach nightclub, but couldn’t because he lost his wallet.

“We were all drunk and had had quite a lot to drink. Andrew was drinking vodka and Tango before we went out.

“In every bar we went into we had a bottle of beer or an alco-pop with some shots, like vodka or sambuca.

“The last I saw Andrew he was drinking a blue ‘Wicked’ drink.”

Questioned by coroner Barrie Van Den Berg, Mr Kitchen said: “We would never normally drink that amount of alcohol but we were on holiday having a good time.

“The VIP pub crawl company — they were just stopping people in the street selling wristbands — give you a time to meet at a certain bar and you turn up. It was about a fiver to go around all the bars.”

Andrew, described after the tragedy by police as having a “promising future”, was found in a pool of blood in the morning on Great Western Beach, Newquay.

The coroner recorded an accidental verdict.

He said: “It seems to be a combination of being under the influence of alcohol and in an area he didn’t know.

“It’s obvious that Mr and Mrs Curwell’s loss is immeasurable and I extend my sincere sympathies to you — the loss must be unbearable.”

His mother Janet said: “Andrew wasn’t a drinker, because he was a rugby player he kept very fit.

“It would have been unusual for him to have drunk that much.”

Andrew’s mother and father, Stephen Curwell, declined to comment after the inquest.