Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
STATION TRAGEDY AS LUCY, 16, DIES ON TRACKS
A“kind-hearted and beautiful” schoolgirl tragically took her own life at a railway station, an inquest has been told. Lucy Fagg, 16, died after being hit by a train in Sturry on March 6.
Yesterday, an inquest at Maidstone County Hall heard how the sporty and ambitious Spires Academy pupil, who dreamed of becoming a zookeeper, had been feeling down before her death. Concerned about her state of mind, a friend had rushed to meet her at the station, but was stuck on the wrong side of the crossing barriers as a train approached, and watched helplessly as Lucy stepped in front of it.
Following the tragedy, British Transport Police carried out an investigation which revealed the events leading up to the death of the teenager - described by her family as “the sweetest, most kind-hearted girl in the world”.
It found she had been subjected to some name-calling after the breakdown of a relationship.
The inquest was told that on the day of her death, she had been “a little bit down” after having to sit an exam in a separate room to her classmates. After school, she had gone for a meal with a friend in Canterbury to “cheer her up” before catching a bus home.
Her friend told how Lucy had “skipped off, blowing kisses to him as she got off the bus”. Lucy returned to her home in Vauxhall Avenue, before telling her mum she was going to the supermarket to buy some fruit. Rebecca Saunders, who led BTP’S investigation, told the inquest that during that time Lucy received a social media message which had left her upset, telling another friend she was “done”.
Deeply concerned, her friend rushed with her own mum to Sturry railway station, knowing Lucy had been there on a previous occasion with the intention of harming herself.
As they were stuck behind the level crossing barriers, they frantically tried to get the attention of others at the station to alert them to Lucy, who was on the platform.
But Lucy was sadly struck by a train after stepping in front of it. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following Lucy’s death, her aunt found an eight-page letter she had written on a notepad in her bedroom.
Dated March 1, it contained messages addressed to her family, friends and teachers indicating she no longer wanted to live. Recording a conclusion of suicide, coroner Catherine Wood said it was clear Lucy’s intention was to end her life. Following her death, Lucy’s devastated family paid tribute to the teenager, who was the youngest of three children. Lucy’s older sister, Sophie, 19, remembered her as a “beautiful young woman”.
“She was the sweetest, most kind-hearted girl in the world; the most innocent and lovely girl you could have met,” she said. “She was so beautiful and had a truly wonderful soul. “Lucy did anything she could for anyone. She was an amazing sister.
“She was always giggling, that amazing little giggle that I yearn to hear once more.”
Her mum, Tammy, 43, described their much-loved girl as an all-rounder who “achieved everything she set her mind to”. “There was no failing in Lucy’s book,” she said. “Once she achieved something, that was that, next project.
“It was like a little bucket list - ‘I wanted to do that, done it, I wanted to do that, done it’. She had to give things the best she had.
“There’s not a sport she wasn’t good at - diving, fishing, long jump, gymnastics.”
As a life-long animal lover, Lucy had a treasured pet chihuahua, Rosie, and a budgie named Kiwi, which she taught to speak.
She dreamed of turning her passion into a career, and had been offered a place at college to work with animals after finishing her GCSES, with the aim of becoming a zookeeper. Lucy was also an avid Liverpool fan who “would never miss a game for anything”, and a talented angler, who regularly spent weekends fishing with her dad at Chartham and District Angling Society.
A memorial service was held at All Saints Church.
■ For confidential support on an emotional issue, call Samaritans on 116 123.
‘She was the most kind-hearted girl in the world; the most innocent and lovely girl you could have met. She had a truly wonderful soul’