DISTRAUGHT relatives of the 16-year-old boy photographed drinking in Newquay hours before he fell from a cliff have revealed that authorities refused their plea for safety features to be put in place where he fell – because it would be too expensive.

Tom Barbour, Paddy Higgins' stepbrother, wrote on Facebook that the council had been "stubborn" over the family's request in the wake of the tragic accident last Sunday.

Paddy, from Wokingham, Berkshire, was celebrating the end of his GCSEs by camping with friends near the Cornish resort. His parents released a picture on Wednesday showing him and his friends drinking spirits in a restaurant hours before his death. They do not believe he and his friends were drinking elsewhere in the town that night.

The family has launched a page on social networking website Facebook calling on people to boycott Newquay and branding it "not safe for teenagers". It has around 1,500 members.

Shireen Higgins, Paddy's stepmother, said in yesterday's Western Morning News: "We cannot bring Paddy back but if we can stop other families going through what we are going through something positive can come from what has happened."

Tom wrote on the site: "We have spoken to Cornwall Council and they have been stubborn saying that safety precautions around the cliffs will be too expensive. But how expensive is somebody's life?

"The only way to show them that people are seriously concerned with the lack of safety is to NOT GO THERE, hopefully if enough people do so and enough tourist revenue is lost, they will take notice!"

But the fencing situation was defended by Councillor Geoff Brown, Cornwall Council member for Newquay Central. He has spent 25 years as a member of the Newquay cliff rescue team, and said often fences were more a hindrance than a help to those trying to reach people in difficulty on cliffs.

And he called on teenagers and their parents to share responsibility for their actions. "The reality is that fencing the coast is not practicable," he said.

"Firstly, where do you start and where do you stop? Do you fence the whole coast? Secondly, in Newquay, where the cliffs are close to grassy areas, roads and paths, there are either fences or hedges. But it is not a Berlin Wall to keep people in, it is a natural barrier.

"Anyone foolhardy enough to climb over it wouldn't find it difficult.

"Parents have to make a judgment whether their child, at the age of 16, is responsible enough to come to Newquay on their own. If they decide they are, the young people have to demonstrate this responsibility and not take these foolhardy actions. There has to be a sense of responsibility."

He said that bars and clubs in the town exercised "watertight" policies for dealing with underage drinking and commended the police for their "proactive" activities that include confiscating alcohol from young drinkers.

The shocking death of Paddy was the second case of a youngster falling off cliffs to his death in as many weeks.

The tragedy came just eight days after Andrew Curwell, 18, from Saddleworth, Lancashire, was found at the foot of cliffs at nearby Great Western Beach.

The Leeds Rhinos' rugby academy player was on holiday with friends to celebrate the end of his A-level exams when he fell from the cliffs.

A third teenager was found unconscious near the bottom of cliffs in the town in an unrelated incident.

In a statement, Inspector Dave Meredith, sector inspector for Newquay, said: "Although the consumption of alcohol cannot be directly linked to any of these incidents, the police are appealing to all persons visiting Newquay this summer to be aware of the dangers of going near cliff areas after consuming alcohol.

"Although it may not be obvious to persons unfamiliar with the town, the majority of pubs and clubs are very close to the sea and some very high cliffs. It is quite feasible for someone who has become lost or disorientated to walk to a dangerous cliff area within minutes of leaving any of the pubs and clubs in central Newquay.

"Unfortunately there is limited safety fencing on a lot of the cliff areas.

"During the summer season there are additional police resources deployed to the town centre area during evenings and nights."