'You were a joy to be around and I will never forget you': Poignant tribute to singer Nick Cave's son who fell 60ft from cliff to his death is left at the scene by his 15-year-old twin brother

  • Arthur Cave fell from Ovingdean Gap in Brighton at 6pm on Tuesday
  • Earl, 15, paid tribute saying: 'You were the best brother I could ask for'
  • Grieving Australian singer also paid tribute to 'beautiful, happy loving boy' 
  • Visited cliff edge with wife Susie Bick where loved ones laid flowers

Nick Cave's son 15-year-old Arthur (pictured) has died after falling 60ft to his death from a cliff

Nick Cave's son 15-year-old Arthur (pictured) has died after falling 60ft to his death from a cliff

A poignant tribute has been left at the cliff edge where Nick Cave's 15-year-old son plunged 60ft to his death by his bereft twin brother. 

In a heartbreaking note left alongside a floral tribute, Earl Cave called his brother Arthur a 'joy to be around', adding: 'You were the best brother I could ever ask for'.

The note read: 'Arthur - I love you so much. You were a joy to be around. I will never forget you.'

The teenage boy was found on a coastal path at the foot of Ovingdean Gap in Brighton, East Sussex, at 6pm on Tuesday.

Yesterday Earl visited the cliff alongside his singer father and his mother, model Susie Bick, where loved ones have left dozens of bouquets.

Earlier, Mr Cave, 57, and Susie, who live with their family in Brighton, had released a statement, paying tribute to their 'beautiful, happy and loving boy'.

The statement said: 'Our son Arthur died on Tuesday evening. He was our beautiful, happy loving boy.

'We ask that we be given the privacy our family needs to grieve at this difficult time.' 

It is not yet known how the teenager died, but police sources said Arthur, described by his father as a keen drummer, may have died following a tragic accident not a suicide. 

During yesterday's visit, Mr Cave stayed close to his car, briefly acknowledging Arthur's friends who left flowers and letters in his son's memory.

Meanwhile his wife Susie, who was driving, and their twin son Earl walked to where the flowers were left, studying the messages for a couple of minutes. 

Last night it emerged that Arthur had taken a selfie photograph just yards away from the cliff where he fell to his death.

The image, which was uploaded to his snapchat account, showed the teenager some ninety minutes before he fell. 

In the photo, he looks relaxed and happy and is wearing a hat. The Ovingdean windmill can also be seen in the background.  

Arthur's best friend Ed Bucknall was among a group who laid flowers at the top of the cliff. 

He said the 15-year-old was a keen skateboarder who was 'genuinely lovely and funny'.  

He said: 'He was my best friend. I saw him every day and I can't believe what's happened. I was with him in the morning, he was round mine. 

Flowers left at the scene where Arthur fell, included one bouquet with a heartbreaking note from his twin brother Earl. It said: 'Arthur - I love you so much. You were a joy to be around and I will never forget you'

Flowers left at the scene where Arthur fell, included one bouquet with a heartbreaking note from his twin brother Earl. It said: 'Arthur - I love you so much. You were a joy to be around and I will never forget you'

Fall: Arthur Cave, 15, right in 2012, who has a twin brother Earl, left, was found at the foot of Ovingdean Gap in Brighton, East Sussex, last night

Fall: Arthur Cave, 15, right in 2012, who has a twin brother Earl, left, was found at the foot of Ovingdean Gap in Brighton, East Sussex, last night

'He was one of the nicest guys you could meet, he was so funny and just so much fun. He never said a bad word about anyone.

'He loved skating, we always used to skate together. And now we can't. I'm devastated, I can't even explain it - I'm just broken. I've been distraught ever since I heard. I was with his brother Earl when I heard and I went and saw their dad.  

'I'm not sure what Arthur was doing at the time, I have no idea how he would have fallen. He was just such a nice guy, you couldn't have asked for a nicer mate.'

Ed also said that he and Arthur had just finished year 10 at the private St Bede's School in Hailsham, East Sussex.

According to a review on the school's website, Arthur played Borachio in a production of William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing, alongside his twin who played the part of Claudio.

A spokesman for St. Bede's School said they were not ready to release a statement out of respect for Arthur's family.  

In mourning: The Australian singer, pictured yesterday, visited the cliff where the teenager plunged to his death

In mourning: The Australian singer, pictured yesterday, visited the cliff where the teenager plunged to his death

Nick Cave's wife - Arthur's mother - Susie Bick, and Arthur's twin brother Earl, also attended the scene yesterday

Nick Cave's wife - Arthur's mother - Susie Bick, and Arthur's twin brother Earl, also attended the scene yesterday

Tragedy: The 15-year-old fell 60ft from these cliffs in Brighton, East Sussex, and is believed to have been found on an underpass

Tragedy: The 15-year-old fell 60ft from these cliffs in Brighton, East Sussex, and is believed to have been found on an underpass

Until October last year, Arthur was a student at Lancing College, an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 13 to 18 in Brighton.

Dominic Oliver, Headmaster of Lancing College, said the school were 'deeply saddened' by the news of his death.

He said: 'Arthur was a pupil at Lancing until October of last year.

'We are all deeply saddened to learn of his death and our sympathies and thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.'

Laying flowers with Ed was his and Arthur's friend, Amelia Parsons, 15, who said she was 'shocked' by his death.

Amelia, from Brighton, East Sussex, said: 'I don't know how this could have happened, he was a really, really great guy.

'He loved his skating, he was always smiling and always happy to be around. He was always up for a laugh and having fun. 

Friends of Arthur Cave gathered at the cliffs from where the teenager fell to lay floral tributes this morning

Friends of Arthur Cave gathered at the cliffs from where the teenager fell to lay floral tributes this morning

Tributes: A pile of flowers was left at the spot where the 15-year-old fell from the 60ft cliff

'He loved his friends and family, he was a caring guy and I've been distraught since it happened. Ed called me up and told me. I'm completely broken.

'I feel really sorry for his brother, it must be so hard on him.'

Another friend who was laying flowers, Charles Terras, said he got the bus to school with Arthur every day.

The 14-year-old from Saltdean, East Sussex, said: 'I got the bus in with him every day, we always used to chat. We used to talk about skating a lot.

Our son Arthur died on Tuesday evening. He was our beautiful, happy loving boy. We ask that we be given the privacy our family needs to grieve at this difficult time
- Nick Cave on Arthur's death

'Honestly this couldn't of happened to someone as nice as Arthur, what a lovely guy. It's heartbreaking, I don't know what could have caused it. There's fencing around the cliff.' 

Arthur died just 10 miles from where a group of students were seen dangling over a 300ft high cliff on Saturday. 

At 6pm yesterday emergency services rushed to treat the 15-year-old, who was found on the beach below with life-threatening injuries.

An air ambulance rushed him to hospital in Brighton after walkers tried to revive him, but he could not be saved.

The multi-agency operation saw police, the coastguard, the fire and rescue service and the air ambulance rush to the foot of the chalk cliffs following reports of a boy falling to the very bottom of the cliff.

His body was discovered on Undercliff Walk - a coastal path some 60ft below the top of the cliff ledge.

Tragedy: Arthur Cave, 15, right, the son of singer Nick Cave and model Susie Bick, has died after falling from a Brighton cliff. Arthur has a twin, Earl, left

Arthur, left, and his brother appeared at the end of 20,000 Days on Earth, a film documenting a fictitious 24 hour period in the singer's life

Arthur, left, and his brother appeared at the end of 20,000 Days on Earth, a film documenting a fictitious 24 hour period in the singer's life

MORE TRAGEDY IN THE LIFE OF AUSTRALIAN BAD SEEDS SINGER NICK CAVE

The dark, tragic edge to Nick Cave's music has led to him being known as rock's 'Prince of Darkness'. 

Born in Australia before moving to Britain in 1980, his music is known to have been influenced by tragedy in his early life, when at 19 his father was killed in a car crash.

Some experts have said that his dark outlook may have sprung from, and is still inspired by this tragedy more than 30 years ago.

He found it difficult to talk about his father's death and said himself: 'His death occurred at a point in my life when I was most confused. The loss created a vacuum, a space in which my words began to float and collect and find their peace'. 

The father of four, who had the twin boys in 2000, has two older sons from a previous relationship and has spoken widely about his love for his children.

He and his wife Susie had proudly taken Arthur and Earl to several high profile events and the brothers appeared at the end of 20,000 Days on Earth, a film documenting a fictitious 24 hour period in the singer's life.

Ms Bick said of her husband in a previous interview: 'He's just adorable. He's just the warmest person, he's got the biggest heart.

'He's so the opposite of what people imagine. And he's the best dad in the world.'

His music often touches on death, religion, love and violence and he was once described as 'the grand lord of gothic lushness'. 

Nick has composed scores for a number of films, including The Proposition in 2005, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and The Road (2009). He co-wrote 20,000 Days on Earth, a semi fictional day in the life documentary.

Mr Cave is most famous for his work with his band the Bad Seeds, formed in Melbourne in 1983. Previously he was in cult band the Birthday Party.

But his biggest hit was a duet with Kylie Minogue - Where The Wild Roses Grow. The pair are still friends and appeared together in his 20,000 Days on Earth film, pictured below. 

Cave performed 'Into My Arms' at the televised funeral of INXS star Michale Hutchence, but insisted the cameras stopped rolling during his performance.

Cave is the godfather of his friend's daughter by late Paula, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily now aged 19 years.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: 'A 15-year-old boy who was found with life threatening injuries on the underpass of Ovingdean Gap, having fallen from the cliff above, has sadly died in hospital on Tuesday.

'Members of the public carried out first aid on the boy before he was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, just after 6pm. He later died there of his injuries.

'The death is being dealt by the coroner's officer.' 

Meanwhile, tourism workers said last night that a group of teenagers spotted sitting precariously on the edge of a 300ft drop are believed to have been foreign language students.

Photographs published yesterday showed several youngsters dangling their legs over the side of the crumbling chalk cliff face while others came perilously close to the sheer drop as they peered over. 

The youngsters were pictured on Saturday on Haven Brow, the first of the Seven Sisters cliffs near Seaford in East Sussex - a spot that loses about 2ft of chalk a year as it drops into the sea.

Police are still investigating how the teenager managed to fall from the cliffs in an area where there is fencing

Police are still investigating how the teenager managed to fall from the cliffs in an area where there is fencing

And yesterday, staff at the Seven Sisters Visitor Centre, which advises on walks and paths to visit the coastline attraction, said they believed the youngsters were likely to be foreign language students.

Speculating that they could have been visiting from nearby Brighton or Eastbourne, a volunteer said: 'Foreign students and visitors are less likely to be aware of the erosion issues of the Seven Sisters.

'Many of the other visitors are often school trips and I cannot imagine a supervising teacher allowing pupils to sit on the cliffs with the inherent danger.

'Youngsters in this area are told from an early age of the dangers of walking too close to the cliffs because they can so easily crumble underfoot.'

A schoolgirl from Seaford who was shown the photos added: 'Whoever this group is they must be mad because everyone local knows how the chalk cliffs here crumble all the time.' 

Last year a man was seen posing for a picture as he dangled his legs over a cliff along the same coast in nearby Beachy Head.

Dangerous: It came after a group were seen dangling their legs over the side of the crumbling chalk cliff face ten miles from where the boy died

Dangerous: It came after a group were seen dangling their legs over the side of the crumbling chalk cliff face ten miles from where the boy died

And in March walkers were spotted sitting 150ft above the ground on the edge of a cliff at Seaford Head.

Parts of the cliffs at the Seven Sisters Country Park have been placed on an at-risk list by the Environment Agency, due to it eroding and collapsing into the sea - including a 21ft-wide stretch of cliff in 2013 at Birling Gap.

However, access to the cliff edge at the Ovingdean Gap is more restricted by fencing.

A coastguard for HM Coastguard said: 'I can confirm Newhaven Coastguard were called by Sussex Police to attend a report of a child who had fallen from the top of the cliff.

'The child had fallen right to the bottom from the top of the cliff but the coastguard was stood down as the ambulance took him to hospital.' 

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