50 years ago an inquest heard that warning signs and ropes at Alum Bay had been ignored leading to the death of 9-year-old Sandra Grant of Rainham.
The Isle of Wight Mercury reported on 4th September 1974 that many adults and children had been behind the rope and under the cliffs before the accident happened because the fall had exposed a lot of coloured sand.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Isle of Wight coroner Mr James Bullin said:
“It is difficult to know how to deal with this matter because the coloured sands in this bay are a great attraction for visitors. “I hope that the company who owns the cliffs will persist with these notices and that the case will be given considerable publicity. “
Sandra’s father, Mr George Grant, said he did not see the warning notices as he was talking to his wife and children as they walked down to the beach. He said the children were collecting sand and bringing it down to him. Mr Grant continued:
“Then I looked up the cliff and saw this part break away. It was the size of a small car and just came cascading down.”
Someone told Mr Grant that a little girl was buried and he realised it must be Sandra.
Police, coastguards, and many other people joined in the digging and after about 20 minutes someone saw her foot.
A doctor who was walking on the beach with his family said that when he heard the little girl had already been buried for about 15 minutes he knew he had to make a last desperate attempt to find her.
When she was located she was lying face down in a position as if she was running away from the cliff. The doctor and his wife and ambulance men tried to revive Sandra before she was flown by helicopter to the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar, Gosport, but she died there at 01:00 the following morning.
Mr Thomas Blake, director and secretary of the Royal Needles Hotel Company, owners of the cliff at the time, said it was the first fatal accident on the side of the cliffs belonging to his company, although there had been one 15 years previously on a neighbouring cliff. Mr Blake said:
“We put up warning but within a day or two they are pulled out. When the staff warn people personally about the dangers of climbing the cliffs more often than not they are abused. “It would be possible to fence off the whole of the cliffs along the bottom, but at the first high tde all the posts would be swept out to sea. We are very sorry indeed about this tragedy, but I do not see what more we can do.”
