The walker, who was in her 40s, had been following a coastal footpath when she spotted the bird feather and went to pick it up.

As the wind caught it and blew it close to the edge, she ignored safety warnings and climbed over metal railings lining the cliff top.

She then lost her footing and fell from the rocky outcrop to the beach below at Budleigh Salterton, Devon.

Paramedics rushed to the scene and the victim, from Taunton, Somerset, was airlifted to hospital by Coastguards at 5pm on Saturday.

But despite doctors' efforts, she died of head injuries the following day at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, Dorset.

A spokesman for Portland Coastguard said: "A woman had slipped down the cliff after she went to retrieve a feather.

"She had been leaning over to pick up the feather and just toppled over. She received head injuries from which she later died."

Onlookers said the victim's brother had been at her side following the fall.

Eyewitness and teacher Sean Doogan, 39, from Plymouth, Devon, said: "She had just fallen when we got to the spot. The woman's brother was kneeling beside her."

Another 34-year-old witness added: "The woman was laying on the path at the bottom of the cliff.

"We heard she was out walking with her brother and had slipped. It was a real shock."

John Shiel, chairman of the parish council's foreshore and footpaths committee, said the railings were put in place to prevent such accidents.

He said: "It is a tragedy. This cliff is about 80ft high. Fencing is there to protect people from falling."