A DOG walker who plunged to his death from cliffs may have been caught off guard by strong winds, it was claimed today (Mon).
The 58-year-old victim fell from cliffs near Eyemouth, Berwickshire, on Saturday night, while he was out walking his pet.
The victim, who has not been named, was staying at Eyemouth Holiday Park. Locals suggested he was from the Newcastle area and spent about eight months of the year at the park.
Why the man fell when he is likely to have known the area and conditions well remains a mystery.
But one man, who asked not to be named, said it was likely to have been a gust of wind which may have caused the man to fall to his death.
The accident happened just a few hundred metres from the man’s caravan at Weasel Loch, near Fort Point.
“I walk along this cliff all the time and it can get fiercly windy up there,” said the man.
“Even if you know the walk very well, you have to be very careful where you step.
“There’s muddy patches all along this path and all it would take is one slip in the wrong place and you’d be gone.”
Barbara Campbell, of Winlaton, near Newcastle, said she had been visiting the park for years.
He said: “It’s such a tragic thing to happen and it’s even worse if they were holidaying here.
“We’ve been coming here for eight years but we still know to be very careful on that part of the cliff.
“It was a dangerous decision to go walking on that stretch at that time of night.”
Local charity shop owner May Robertson said the area was treacherous.
“It doesn’t take much for a tragic accident like this to happen,” she said.
The man was reported missing at about 10pm. Forty minutes later, a body was spotted at the bottom of the cliff.
Paramedics abseiled down to help the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A helicopter from RAF Boulmer was scrambled and used to recover his body.
Flowers were laid at the spot where the man fell today (Mon) bearing heartbreaking messages from his grieving family.
A bouquet of red and pink carnations bore the message: “My darling you have been taken so soon. Love you so much, always with me in my heart. Jean X. Until we meet again. XXX”
Another said: “Taken from us so soon. Gone but never forgotten. Always in our hearts. Love you dad. Andy, Lizzie, Karen, Carl, Jak and Richie.”
The manager of the park, who declined to give her name, said the family were devastated and wanted to be left to grieve in private.
Police have said there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the man’s death and that a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.
