A woman plunged to her death in Cornwall after falling off a cliff during a night time walk, an inquest has heard.
Megan Thornton, 23, had been on a night out in Bude, Cornwall with friends in July 2022 when she met Charlie Pengilly and accompanied him back to a cottage overlooking Widemouth Bay where he was staying with family members.
Not long after arriving at the property, Thornton was told she was unable to stay because his 14 other family members were already sleeping at the centuries-old cottage.
Ms Thornton has been described as 'determined' and 'precious'.
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She was said to have willingly accepted this and left via the back door to go home before taking just a few steps before plummeting from the 25ft cliff and on to the rocks below.
The cottage was located just 30ft from the cliff edge, which was usually illuminated with solar lights, but these were not activated on the night of Thornton's death.
Shortly after the accident, Pengilly is said to have called for help and house guest Alice Rogers, who is a GP practice nurse, ran down to the beach and gave Megan life support until paramedics arrived.
However, Thornton ultimately died from her injuries at the scene.
An inquest heard the assistant marketing manager was unable to be saved despite courageous efforts from those around her and paramedics.
The accident happened in Widemouth Bay, Bude.
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Pengilly told the inquest the garden was "pitch black" on the night of the accident and described Megan as a "lovely girl".
Her father Paul Thornton said "She was very precious to us. We are very proud of her. She achieved so much in her short life. She was so single-minded, very determined, hard-working and very ambitious."
He added that the family did not blame anyone for the tragedy and were grateful to Ms Rogers for doing everything she could to help her on the beach.
A post mortem examination concluded she died from head and neck injuries consistent with a fall from height, and was one and a half times over the drink drive limit.
The senior Cornwall coroner Andrew Cox said Thornton was "of a mind" to walk back to her address at 2am and set off.
He also commended Ms Rogers as she tried to save Megan but said there was nothing she could do to avoid this outcome.
He recorded an accidental death conclusion, saying: "This was a tragic accident."
