The father of an Angus 11-year-old who died after falling from a cliff, has slammed hoaxers who called emergency services out to the same spot eight years on.
Kevin Barthorpe said he was “absolutely disgusted” by the actions of the unknown person who used children’s charity Childline to call in the prank bringing painful memories back to the family.
His daughter Nicole fell to her death in 2003 after slipping into a tidal crevasse near the Needle’s E’e, in an apparent attempt to retrieve a bag that was dropped by a friend.
She had been allowed to go out with her friend, but had been warned to stay away from the cliffs.
After rushing to the scene both Mr Barthorpe and his wife Lorraine watched helplessly as the tragedy unfolded.
The hoax call on Friday last week, came the same day Mr Barthope had appeared in The Courier, calling for enhanced safety measures at the cliffs such as lifebelts, and has only served to strengthen his feelings on the matter.
“Making any hoax call to any of the emergency services in the first place is totally disgraceful,” he said.
“What if somebody had actually fallen in there at that time and the lifeboat couldn’t reach them because they were tied up dealing with the hoax?”Suction effectHe added ,”Not only are they putting the emergency services in danger, but you just have to think of the cost of the rescue operation.
“When Nicole fell there were police officers involved along with the ambulance, the coastguard and a rescue helicopter crew.
“If there had been a full response to the hoax call, then just imagine the cost.”
The point where Nicole fell is described as a “scar” in the cliffs and has a narrow opening around two feet at its widest point, leading down to a four or five foot wide inlet.
When the tide is rising, seawater rockets powerfully into the recess and then has nowhere to go, creating a suction effect, which drew the primary school pupil into the sea.
Angus Council took measures to put up the safety signs and barriers following the death and it is understood the decision not to include lifebelts was taken on instruction from the HM Coastguard.Lifebelt campaignFollowing the tragedy, Mr Barthorpe campaigned to have lifebelts and ropes positioned at the cliffs between Arbroath and Auchmithie, however the request was denied on safety grounds.
Local authority workers are repairing some of the notices and barriers in the area, after vandals tore them apart and set fire to some of the wooden struts on the beach last week.
The cliffs suffered a landslide earlier in the year after heavy rainfall and a programme of repairs to get the popular walking route reopened is under consideration by the council.
In Scotland last year the RNLI was alerted to three confirmed hoax calls, five suspected hoax calls and there were a further 145 false alarms made in good faith.
The previous year, seven confirmed hoax calls were made, eight suspected hoax calls, and 165 false alarms.
The RNLI has spent thousands of pounds of money donated by the public in following up emergencies which turned out to be malicious calls something the service can ill afford, with the average costs of running a lifeboat station around £610 a day.
Photo Jim Ratcliffe.