12-year-old girl killed by falling tree branch while on rope swing, inquest hears
Brooke Wiggins suffered fatal injuries in Surrey, after a branch collapsed from a tree that was due for inspection months earlier
Last updated 14 hours ago
A “beautiful” 12-year-old girl died after she was hit by a falling branch while playing on a rope swing which “should have been removed” from a tree six months earlier, an inquest heard.
Brooke Wiggins died days before her 13th birthday on November 9 2024 in Banstead, Surrey, after the impact of the branch caused a fatal injury, South London Coroner’s Court heard on Wednesday.
The inquest heard the tree Brooke had been swinging from, maintained by Surrey County Council, had been inspected in May 2022 and was due for re-inspection in May 2024, which did not take place.
Acting on behalf of Brooke’s father Lee Wiggins, Christian Weaver said that had the inspection been carried out, any rope swing found on the tree should have been removed, “as per policy”.
Gordon Carson of the Health and Safety Executive told the hearing the council’s policy is to remove rope swings from trees within seven days.
He said the council had not provided any evidence of a system that flags overdue inspections, or a record of whether or why it decided to defer the May 2024 inspection.
Representatives for Surrey County Council said expert evidence shows an inspection may not have achieved a “material different outcome”.
The inquest heard Brooke had been playing with two friends at the time of the incident, referred to as Friend A and Friend B.
In a police interview, Friend A said the swing was used by Friend B for around five minutes, before Brooke played on it for around two minutes until “the branch started shaking and it fell on her ribs”, assistant coroner Ivor Collett said.
The inquest heard Friend B told police the swing, a branch tied with rope, sat low to the ground and “didn’t feel safe at all”.
Brooke’s friends went in search of help when she fell, and found brothers Edward and Patrick Delaney, who lifted the branch and attempted resuscitation before paramedics arrived.
Brooke died at the scene, with her cause of death recorded as blunt force trauma to the chest with traumatic asphyxia.
The inquest heard later inspections revealed a “crack” in the upper side of the branch that would not have been seen from ground level, and which had been obscured by ivy.
In a statement read by Mr Collett on behalf of Brooke’s mother, Claire Etherington, the youngster was described as a “beautiful, fun, caring and loving girl” who had “the most incredible way of lighting up every room she went into”.
Her mother added: “She was always surrounded by the people who loved her, and it’s easy to see why – she gave so much love back.”
Brooke loved dancing, art, singing and taking photographs.
She took pride in expressing herself, and “never went anywhere without her eyelashes on”, Ms Etherington said.
“She was a smart girl with so much potential.
“We will always wonder what she would have gone on to achieve in her life.”
Ms Etherington added that she hopes knowing what happened to Brooke will bring “a small sense of closure” and “some understanding”.
In a second statement read by Mr Collett, Brooke’s father told the inquest his daughter was an “amazing young woman” who was “bright” and “very funny”.
He said: “I am devasted that my baby girl has been taken from me.
“She packed so much into her short life.
“Only 12 years old, and now she’s gone forever.
“When I think of her, I ask myself, ‘why my darling Brooke?’
“If only people had done their job properly… the one thing they are paid to do, and did it properly, Brooke would still be here.”
Speaking at the start of the hearing, Mr Collett said: “This is a particularly sad inquest.
“Of course, there are no happy inquests, but this is dreadful because it concerns the death of a young child and there’s no escaping that.
“To the family, I am bound to sound, at times, rather cold and distant… (but) I do not take away for a moment the unending pain felt by the family by the loss of their beloved daughter.”
The inquest continues.