Grandmother carrying heavy handbag falls to her death from cliff

Waves crashing over rocks at Portland Bill lighthouse on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset
Waves crashing over rocks at Portland Bill lighthouse on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset



A 79-year-old woman who plunged to her death from a cliff in Dorset may have lost her balance due to wearing a heavy handbag.

Maureen Bean was walking with her husband Derek and a group of friends at Portland Bill when she fell down the cliff.

See also: Tourist dies after falling 90 metres from cliff in Sydney

Bournemouth Coroner's Court heard how a friend saw Maureen walking one minute and the next she was gone.

The grandmother had fallen 18 feet onto the rocks below and sustained a head injury.

See also: British holidaymaker dies after 130ft cliff fall in Sorrento

According to the Bournemouth Echo, police constable Jennifer Bousfield said Mrs Bean was carrying a 4.5kg which she wore "on her right shoulder, on the sea side if she had been walking from the obelisk."

The Daily Mail reports that Mrs Bean's daughter Adrienne Kimber said: "She had everything you could possibly think of in the bag including a toolkit.

"I also told her that it was too heavy and that it would damage her shoulder but she was quite stubborn."

Dorset coroner Mr Sheriff Payne said: "No one actually saw what happened - she went off on her own.

"There was no sign of disturbance to the cliff edge. One must assume therefore that she lost her balance, which may have been assisted by her handbag which was quite heavy."

Earlier this year, a woman fell to her death from cliffs that feature in the hit drama Broadchurch.

Emergency services were called after the woman was found unconscious at the base of the 80ft cliffs at West Bay in Dorset.

According to ITV News, a spokesman for Dorset Police said: "Officers attended the scene and found an elderly woman on the beach below. She was treated at the scene but sadly died."

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