A MAN plunged to his death after a Gothic party in Whitby - centred on the town's famous links with Dracula - ended in tragedy.

The 29-year-old fell 50 feet from the west cliff after leaving the event at The Pavilion in the resort early yesterday.

Paramedics tended to him on the beach, but he was pronounced dead after arrival at hospital.

The partygoer was named today as Stephen Joshua Broughton, a single man, from Kirkby on Merseyside.

The Goth weekend, which was attended by about 1,100 people, has been held in the town for the past four or five years.

Peter Dahl, director of tourism and leisure services at Scarborough Borough Council, which covers Whitby, said: "We regularly have events at the Pavilion, but have never experienced this type of sad incident before. We will await the outcome of the police investigation and co-operate in any way."

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Meanwhile, the mother of a cyclist found lying seriously hurt at the side of a North Yorkshire road has appealed for witnesses to explain how he was hurt.

Ampleforth College teacher Matthew Torrens-Burton, 34, of Newburgh, near Coxwold, was discovered beside his cycle on the Ampleforth to Wass road on Friday.

His mother, Hilary Gibbons, said it was a heavy duty rock-climbing helmet that he was wearing which saved his life.

Mrs Gibbons said: "He is recovering and managed to get out of bed today, but he can't speak and his memory of it is not good. We don't want to push him."

Mr Torrens-Burton was given a tracheotomy to help him breathe.

He was given a brain scan yesterday.

His mother said: "The scan has shown that he is all right, but it is going to take a long time for him to recover.

"That is a great relief to everybody. If he hadn't been wearing that helmet he wouldn't be here today."

Mr Torrens-Burton, who teaches classics and English as a foreign language, regularly cycled the five miles between his home and the school.

He was returning from school when the accident happened.

Other incidents over the Bank Holiday weekend included:

A road accident involving three vehicles on the A614 Road at Burton Agnes near Bridlington, in which a driver and one passenger suffered minor injuries.

An accident at an organised motorcycle race at the Croft racing circuit on the County Durham and North Yorkshire border, in which a rider died after apparently falling from his motorbike. Details of the rider, who was competing in a race at about 5.15pm, have not yet been released.

Severe traffic congestion and delays were expected this evening as millions of holidaymakers returned home after a combined Easter/Mayday holiday.