Girls in suicide leap 'pact'

Two teenage girls who plunged 120 feet to their death in an apparent suicide pact were named by police today.

Danielle Waddington, 16, and Lisa Utton, 18, lived at what police described as temporary addresses in the Southend area, Danielle in a flat on the Woodgrange estate and Lisa in nearby Rochford. The parents of both girls were said today to be " devastated" by their deaths.

The girls fell from the window of a stairwell on the 11th floor of a block of flats in Southend. They had used residents' intercom buzzers to get into the block and climbed onto a ledge to get to the window.

Paramedics found one dead at the scene while her friend died shortly afterwards in hospital. Earlier on Saturday night, an ambulance crew had taken the girls to Southend General Hospital after finding them drunk and distressed on Southend seafront.

But the girls left without being seen by doctors and soon afterwards were let into the council-owned block of flats in Jones Close after ringing a series of intercom buzzers in the lobby.

Half an hour later, at 3.30am, they were found together by residents on a concrete path outside. One of the large windows in the block, which is usually kept locked, was open.

One of the girls is said to have had a history of selfharm and initial inquiries suggest the pair were depressed and wanted to take their own lives.

Detective Inspector Joe Roache, of Southend CID, said: "We are not treating their deaths as suspicious but want to speak to anyone who may be able to help us build a picture of what happened."

A police source added: "Everything points towards a suicide pact. There were no reports of any screaming or shouting from the stairwell. For whatever reason, the girls believed they didn't have a lot to live for. It is a terrible tragedy."

Residents say the block has become a meeting place for drug dealers and is plagued by anti-social behaviour.

John Wallis, who has lived in the flats since they opened 37 years ago, said: "People are always coming and going all hours of the day and night and breaking in.

"We have asked the council to increase security and give us CCTV but nothing ever gets done."