THE family of a teenage girl who fell more than 150ft to her death during a late-night clifftop walk were still baffled by the tragedy last night.

Terri Ann Ellwood, 16, of Peterlee, County Durham, died and a 30-year-old woman from Sunderland suffered head and leg injuries in the fall close to the Blue Dolphin holiday centre at Filey, North Yorkshire.

They were among a group of four who left the caravan park in the early hours of yesterday.

Terri Ann's father, Terry, travelled to North Yorkshire yesterday with other family members.

A family friend said: "We still don't know exactly what happened but it is a terrible tragedy. Her father is naturally devastated. She was a lovely girl."

It is understood that Terri Ann, who left St Bedes RC school in Peterlee at the end of last year, had gone to Filey with her 16-year-old boyfriend.

Terri Ann and the unnamed woman fell to a spot known locally as Pudding Hole, at the foot of Gristhorpe Cliffs.

The other two members of the group - a 16-year-old boy from Peterlee and another woman from Sunderland, who have not been named - ran back to the centre to raise the alarm, sparking a massive rescue attempt.

Both victims were found by coastguard officers, who abseiled down to guide an RAF medic being winched down from a Sea King helicopter scrambled from Leconfield, east Yorkshire. The rescue team was joined by a crew from the inshore lifeboat.

North Yorkshire paramedic Paul Cullen was also winched down the cliff and, after treating the injured woman, he was lifted back into the Sea King to continue caring for her on the way to Scarborough General Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.

Terri Ann's body was recovered later and police have since confirmed they have begun an investigation on behalf of the coroner.

The rescue, carried out in the dark, took three hours.

Barry Robson is the coxswain and mechanic on the main Filey lifeboat, which also responded to the emergency call.

"It was a dangerous place to go walking after dark," he said. "The cliffs are very steep at that point. In other parts there are more gradual shale banks, but at that point it is virtually straight down.

"There is no fence at the top so there is a high risk of someone falling.

"It was a tragic case for a girl so young to die like that, everyone involved in the operation was upset."

Mr Cullen said the tragedy demonstrated close co-operation between the emergency services.

"This was an excellent example of how we can work together. It was a tricky job in the circumstances - but it was sad how it turned out in the end."

The Humber Coastguard's Mike Green also warned the public of the dangers of walking along cliffs in the dark.

"It is very easy to mistake your footing and slip, so people should always ensure they have adequate lighting," he said.

Terri Ann lived with her father in a maisonette in Forth Close, Peterlee.

Last night, a friend said: "We think they may have been walking when the cliff crumbled away beneath their feet.

"All her friends are very upset and we can't believe she has died."

One neighbour, who did not wish to be identified, said: "It's just tragic. She seemed a nice girl, but she had only moved here with her dad a few weeks ago."