An inquest has ruled the death of 12-year-old Brooke Wiggins as an accident after she was crushed by a falling tree branch while playing on a rope swing in Banstead, Surrey.
Details of the Tragedy
Brooke Wiggins was just days away from her 13th birthday on November 9, 2024, when the incident occurred. She fell from a rope swing attached to a large tree branch that suddenly broke off, crushing her beneath its weight, South London Coroner's Court was told.
Assistant coroner Ivor Collett stated that Surrey County Council, responsible for maintaining the tree, had faced criticism over its tree safety inspection approach. However, he concluded that the council could not reasonably have been expected to do more to prevent the tragedy.
Coroner's Findings
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."
The inquest heard the tree had been inspected by Surrey County Council in May 2022. Following that inspection, a recommendation was made to remove ivy covering the tree to aid future inspections. After Brooke's death, a crack was discovered in the branch that was not visible from ground level.
A re-inspection scheduled for May 2024 did not take place due to prioritization of other inspections. The coroner noted there was "no sound evidence that a re-inspection by May 2024 would have revealed either a dangerous crack or a rope swing."
Criticism of Inspection Regime
Mr. Collett rejected criticism that Surrey County Council's inspection regime was deficient, saying: "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."
The assistant coroner also considered whether advisory notices warning against rope swings should have been erected between May 2022 and May 2024. He rejected this, citing lack of evidence that a rope swing would have been discovered in that period and doubts that "vigorous children and teenagers would take much notice of warning signs."
Tribute to Brooke
Mr. Collett paid tribute to Brooke's family, saying: "They have provided a voice for her when she has been unable to speak for herself. Brooke was plainly a light that shone in their lives, and while that light shone far less than half as long as was its due, it clearly shone more than twice as brightly."
The coroner concluded that a Prevention of Future Deaths report was not warranted, as "there is a sufficient system already in place."
