Father of girl crushed by falling tree branch in Surrey disappointed at coroner’s ruling
He has expressed disappointment with a coroner’s ruling that his daughter’s death was an accident
Last updated 12 hours ago
The father of a 12-year-old girl who died after she was hit by a falling branch while playing on a rope swing has expressed disappointment with a coroner’s ruling that his daughter’s death was an accident.
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 a tree which suddenly snapped off and crushed her beneath its weight, South London Coroner’s Court heard.
Assistant coroner Ivor Collett said Surrey County Council, which was responsible for maintaining the tree, had been criticised over how it inspected the safety of trees, but concluded it could not have reasonably been expected to do more to prevent the incident from happening.
Mr Collett said: “I see what happened on the awful day of Brooke’s death as an accident which was not readily foreseeable by either of the local authorities involved.
“I find that they, and Surrey County Council in particular, had reasonable systems in place.
“Bearing in mind their duties and the risks and the public resources they have to manage, they could not reasonably be expected to have done more in a way which would have prevented this terrible accident.”
But in a statement from his lawyers, Lee Wiggins, Brooke’s father, said he was disappointed with the coroner’s comments and claimed that her death was “avoidable”.
Mr Wiggins said: “Brooke was 12 years old and would never for a second thought she was risking her life.
“I fully believe that Brooke’s death could have been avoided had people at the council done their jobs properly, and taken more care to fulfil their duty to ensure public safety.
“I just hope and pray that Brooke’s death has raised awareness of the dangers so that no other families have to go through the tragic, heart-breaking, avoidable loss we now have to live with.”
The inquest previously heard the tree had been reviewed in May 2022, after which there was a recommendation to remove ivy covering it to “aid future inspection” of the tree, which, after Brooke’s death, was revealed to have had a “crack” not visible from ground level.
A reinspection was scheduled for May 2024, but this did not take place due to prioritising other inspections, the inquest heard.
The coroner told the inquest on Wednesday that there was “no sound evidence that a reinspection by May 2024 would have revealed either a dangerous crack or a rope swing”.
Mr Collett said: “A criticism made in this case of Surrey County Council has been that its inspection regime was deficient.
“However, I do not make that finding.
“I accept the need to prioritise tree inspection works.
“This is not the same statutory territory as highway inspection regimes, it is far more nuanced and must be far more reactive and flexible, especially given the resources available and the huge number of trees involved in the Surrey CC estate.”
The assistant coroner told the inquest that a prevention of future deaths report was “not warranted” as “there is a sufficient system already in place”.
Mr Wiggins said the coroner missed an opportunity in this decision and called for a campaign to highlight the dangers of rope swings.
He said: “There needs to be a proper public awareness campaign about the dangers of rope swings.
“It’s about giving people the information they need to make safe choices.
“I fear the opportunity may be missed to highlight this danger to the wider public, which a prevention of future deaths report could have helped with.
“Surrey County Council has pledged to do more now to make people aware, but what about other authorities?”
Mr Wiggins added: “I am absolutely devastated that my baby girl has been taken from me.
“She packed so much into her short life.”
Terence Herbert, Chief Executive of Surrey County Council said, “I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Brooke Wiggins. We have played a full part in the inquest proceedings and note the coroner’s conclusion that this was a tragic accident.”