Mum calls for sea wall safety changes to stop other families suffering same heartbreak
Network Rail say a risk assessment will now be carried out.
Last updated 18th Jul 2023
Hundreds of people have now signed a mum's petition calling for the old Dawlish sea wall to be made safer - following the death of her 14 year old daughter.
Ukrainian school girl Albina Yevko died in March, after she fell between Rockstone and Dawlish Warren.
She arrived in the country less than a year before it happened and her inquest is due to take place in October.
Network Rail says it will look at what changes can be made, but warn it would be difficult to 'install and maintain' a handrail along that section.
Mum Inna said: "I want to prevent more deaths. I'm very pleased that people have signed it and shared this petition."
Ms Yevko says she’s had lots of support from the Dawlish community since her daughter's passing - including at vigils - and is raising awareness now ahead of the Summer to stop other people getting into difficulty.
She added: "I feel like I have family here. Some people try to come to me and they hug me and they bring flowers."
The petition has reached almost 300 signatures so far and last year a separate fundraiser for Albina's family passed more than ÂŁ3,000.
Rosie Dawson, from Albina's host family, said she's backing the campaign and believes Albina's death was a preventable accident.
She said: "It's not the first time that someone has fallen off this sea wall in Dawlish and died - there have also been people with sustained injuries."
A Network Rail spokesperson responded by saying: “We were saddened to hear of the passing of Albina Yevko and we’ve met with the family to express our condolences and discuss their concerns relating to the sea wall.
"Following the collapse of the sea wall in 2014, we conducted a risk assessment of the wall.
"Now that we have completed the new sea wall at Dawlish, we will do a new risk assessment to understand if there have been any changes which would affect the level of risk in this area.
"Handrails along all sections of the sea wall would be difficult to install and maintain effectively given the harsh coastal environment.
" All options will be considered as part of the new risk assessment.”
To see Inna's petition click here