A regional news website’s decision to report the location of a teenager’s suicide did not constitute excessive detail, the press watchdog has ruled.

The Independent Press Standards Organisation has found Teesside Live was entitled to report the name of a viaduct from which an inquest heard 17-year-old Ellie Young fell to her death.

Her mother Emma Young had complained to IPSO over the Middlesbrough-based title’s report of the hearing, claiming the level of detail found within it could enable simulative acts.

But IPSO ruled that readers would understand that jumping from an extreme height could be fatal.

The story, run under the headline ‘Ellie fell into the darkness – and I heard a thud’: Dangling teen lost grip and plunged 150ft’, reported the height and name of the local viaduct that Ms Young fell from and included a picture of the landmark, as well as the fact she had accessed it through local woods.

It added Ms Young had “dangled” for a minute over the edge of the viaduct while her friend kept hold of her wrist, but added the friend told the inquest that “I had to let go” and Ms Young “fell into the darkness – and I heard a thud”.

Complaining under Clause 5 (Reporting of suicide) of the Editors’ Code of Practice, Mrs Young said she was not previously aware how the viaduct could be accessed.

She believed the inclusion of the photograph, reporting that her daughter had walked through the woods and along the railway track, and then explaining how she climbed across the iron railing and sat on the edge, revealed that a jump was possible, and would almost certainly end a person’s life.

Mrs Young further claimed breached Clause 4 (Intrusion into grief or shock) because the headline reference to the “thud” that her daughter made when she fell was extremely distressing to her family, as was the article’s focus on her daughter’s relationships.

She also felt the description of her daughter as a “dangling teen” was sensational and insensitive, and noted that these words were not heard during the inquest.

Denying a breach of Code, Teesside Live said reporting the location of a death or how to access it did not constitute detail of a suicide method because any place which was high up was clearly potentially dangerous, while detailing how to get to a place did not constitute detail as what to do next.

It added the references to “thud” and Ms Young’s relationships were quotations from the inquest, while the “dangling teen” reference was an accurate summary of Ms Young’s friend’s inquest statement, in which she explained how she had held on to her arm for approximately a minute as she was suspended from the viaduct.

The story had been removed by the publication after it was contacted by Mrs Young directly as a gesture of goodwill, and offered to write her a private letter of apology if this would resolve her complaint.

IPSO found the report of the incident did not include a level of detail which was excessive given that, without reading the article, readers would understand that jumping from an extreme height could be fatal.

The word “thud” was a direct quote from evidence heard at the inquest, as were the published details about Ms Young’s relationship, while the “dangling teen” reference was justified as a summary of this testimony.