A PROMISING young rugby player has died after plunging more than 70ft down a cliff.

Andrew Curwell, 18, from Saddleworth, Oldham, had been celebrating the end of his A-level exams with friends at Newquay in Cornwall.

He was found dead at the bottom of the cliff near the resort’s Great Western beach.

Andrew was a sixth-former at Rishworth School, near Ripponden in West Yorkshire.

He played for the Leeds Rhinos rugby league team’s under-18s side after joining the club’s academy in 2007.

He had previously played for amateur side Saddleworth Rangers.

Barrie McDermott, Leeds Rhinos’ head of youth development, said: “This is tragic news and our sympathies go to Andy’s family and friends at this time.

“Andy was an intelligent young man who loved playing rugby and had a bright future ahead of him. Just three weeks ago he finished with our academy so he could concentrate on his studies.

“I know he was looking forward to going to university in the future. He was well liked by all his team mates and coaches and will be sadly missed by everyone.”

Players at the club will wear black armbands in memory of Andrew this weekend.

His body was found on the beach early on Sunday. Police are not treating his death as suspicious.

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “At about 4.55am on Sunday, police were called to a report of a man’s body at the foot of cliffs between Towan and Great Western beaches at Newquay.”