Calls for railings on seawall were ignored before girl fell and died

Repeated calls 30 years ago from a coroner and safety experts for railings to be installed on a seawall in Devon after a teenager lost his life were ignored, it has emerged, after the death last year of a young Ukrainian refugee in similar circumstances.

- Jamie Grierson

Documents seen by the Guardian reveal that local authorities committed to painting a white line and installing warning signs - none of which remain today - after Brendon Burnage, 17, fell to his death from the Dawlish seawall in 1992.

The deputy coroner for the region at the time, Robert Newman, wrote to British Rail, then the owner of the rail route the wall protects, and Teignbridge district council to urge them to consider railings as a safety precaution after the conclusion of Burnage's inquest. The seawall is now owned by Network Rail.

In March last year Albina Yevko, 14, fell from the wall and was pronounced dead shortly after. An inquest into her death is yet to resume, but her mother and host family understand that the police have concluded her death was an accident.

Her death prompted Daniel Pooley, a friend of Burnage who leapt into the sea to try to save his friend in 1992, to uncover documents from local archives that show what authorities did and did not do in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Calls for safety railings were backed up by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in a report commissioned by Teignbridge district council.