The girl, 9, killed by a single stone
Family pay tribute to ‘the light of our lives’
THIS is the nine-year- old girl who was killed when she was hit by a single stone falling from a 150ft cliff.
Harriet Forster was yesterday described by her grieving family as ‘the light of our lives’ following the tragedy on Wednesday.
She was visiting the picturesque seaside village of Staithes, North Yorkshire, when the accident happened. Witnesses described how her mother saw her struck by a stone and two pieces of shale falling from cliffs which may have been made unstable by the recent mix of dry weather and rain.
Harriet’s family, of Oxford, yesterday released a statement through North Yorkshire Police, describing their ‘indescribable pain’. It added: ‘We cannot comprehend the enormity of this tragedy. Harriet was the light of our lives.’
North Yorkshire Police wAS compiling a report on behalf of the coroner. The tragedy happened at 4.45pm on Wednesday, when more than 100 people were on the sands. Katie Swart, who is on holiday in the area, said: ‘ The little girl was on a day out with her mum. They wandered away from the beach and decided to go exploring. She was hit on
‘Can’t comprehend the enormity’
the head by a single small stone and two pieces of shale. It was horrible. We knew the worst had happened because the ambulance service were working on her so long.’
The village GP rushed to the scene to start CPR and the sands were evacuated for an air ambulance to land. One local said: ‘The [girl’s] mum was sat outside the pub with two police support officers sobbing her heart out.’
Only two weeks ago, James Child and his son Jake, 20, from Oxford, had a lucky escape posing for snaps at the same spot. Mr Child, 55, said: ‘I heard a big splash in the water and thought “What the hell is that? That could kill someone.” At first I thought it was some idiot throwing rocks off the cliff. But as we walked away a bucket load of shale and stones came down.’
There is a warning sign about unstable rocks near the beach entrance, but it cannot be seen from the accident scene. A second sign is at the other side of the bay. Dr Helen Reeves, of the British Geological Survey, said: ‘Landslides, including rockfalls, are commonly triggered in the UK by rainfall. In this instance, the recent unprecedented warm dry weather is likely to be a contributing factor.’