Work recommended on Banstead tree which crushed girl was not carried out, inquest told
Brooke Wiggins died age 12 after she fell from a rope swing attached to a large branch which suddenly snapped off and crushed her beneath its weight
Work to remove ivy which concealed a crack on a beech tree which subsequently snapped, crushing a 12-year-old girl to death, was never carried out by council workers despite recommendations, an inquest has heard.
Brooke Wiggins died days before her 13th birthday on November 9 2024 in Banstead, Surrey, after she fell from a rope swing attached to a large branch of the tree which suddenly snapped off and crushed her beneath its weight.
The inquest previously heard the tree, maintained by Surrey County Council, had been reviewed in May 2022, following which there was a recommendation to remove ivy covering it to allow for closer inspection.
A re-inspection was scheduled for May 2024, but this did not take place, South London Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday.
The inquest previously heard the recommendation to remove the ivy was to “aid future inspection” of the tree, which, after Brooke’s death, was revealed to have had a “crack” not visible from ground level.
On Friday, Katherine McDonald, the council’s group manager for countryside, told the hearing the work was given a priority rating of five, meaning it “should” take place within 12 months of the inspection.
When asked to explain what is meant by “should”, Miss McDonald said she had received advice from tree surgeon James Wade but this did not amount to a “concrete plan”.
Miss McDonald told the hearing the council must “juggle” competing priorities, and deliver residents the best value for money by tackling “the highest priority first”.
She said: “They can’t be, because we would require flexibility… to be able to juggle different priorities and ensure that on the spectrum of priority, we are providing the most value for money for our residents, and that would be tackling the highest priority first.”
Miss McDonald said the number of trees the council is responsible for is “in the millions, not the thousands”, and it would not be possible to complete all work recommended by the team responsible for maintaining trees in the county.
She told the hearing the tree is metres behind the nearby bridleway, and the council was not aware of the area being accessed by the public.
The inquest previously heard the council’s policy is to remove rope swings from trees within seven days.
On Friday, Miss McDonald said it was “standard practice” for the council to remove rope swings from trees and at least 15 are removed by the council each year.
In areas where multiple swings are found, it is the council’s policy to consider putting up advisory notices warning against them, the inquest heard.
Miss McDonald said if she had been aware of swings hanging from the tree Brooke had been swinging from, such signage would “certainly” have been considered.
When asked by Christian Weaver, who represents Brooke’s father Lee, if signs have since been put up at the site of the accident, Miss McDonald responded: “No.”
She said: “The branch had already fallen, and the rope swings were on that branch and were not on any other tree in the area.
“We would envisage putting them on a specific tree, where a specific tree is an issue, rather than a general location.”
When asked how the council educates the public about the dangers of rope swings, Miss McDonald said countryside education is “not an easy subject”.
She added: “Where there is an activity taking place that is undesirable, if you highlight it, it can draw attention to it.”
Information about the dangers of rope swings is issued by the council as advice to schools, Miss McDonald said.
The inquest heard a “serious incident group” had been set up following Brooke’s death to decide what should happen to the tree.
When asked by Tamar Burton, who represents Brooke’s mother, Claire Etherington, whether the group consulted with the local community, Miss McDonald said this would have been deemed “insensitive”.
She added: “That group was very concerned about being sensitive.”
When asked if any of Brooke’s family were invited to join the group, Miss McDonald said: “No, and for exactly the same reason. This was a purely administrative group, administrating internally, it was not an external group.”
After Brooke’s death, the council decided to “monolith” the tree – to reduce it to a trunk, despite it being considered healthy, “because of what’s happened”, the inquest heard.