Bridge 'suicide pact' deaths spark probe

THE deaths of two teenage girls who jumped off a bridge together in an apparent suicide pact will be the subject of a fatal accident inquiry.

Niamh Lafferty, 15, and Georgia Rowe, 14, fell more than 100ft from the Erskine Bridge in October last year.

The girls, who stayed at a nearby residential school in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, were reportedly holding hands as they leapt.

Staff at the Good Shepherd Centre said the girls had been on "apparently happy and productive" weekend outings with relatives and were seen going to their rooms in their pyjamas.

But a routine check later found no sign of them, and a search of the campus was launched.

A Crown Office spokesman said: "Crown counsel have instructed that a fatal accident inquiry should be held into the deaths of Niamh Frances Bysouth and Georgia May Rowe (also known as Terrie Faye Oliver), who fell to their deaths from the Erskine Bridge on 4 October 2009. At the time of their deaths they were resident at the Good Shepherd Centre in Renfrewshire.

"No date has yet been set for the inquiry and we will continue to keep the families advised of the status of the case and any future developments."

After the deaths, First Minister Alex Salmond said any lessons that can be learned from the tragedy must be heeded.

He said the incident underlined "the acute needs and risks presented by a very small number of young people in Scotland".

Mr Salmond was questioned about the girls' deaths at First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament by Scotttish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie – herself a former member of the Good Shepherd Centre management board.