A coroner has determined that the death of a 12-year-old girl who was struck by a falling tree branch while playing on a rope swing was an accident. Brooke Wiggins died on November 9, 2024, just days before her 13th birthday, in Banstead, Surrey. She fell from a rope swing attached to a large branch that suddenly snapped and crushed her, as heard at South London Coroner's Court.
Coroner's Findings
Assistant coroner Ivor Collett stated that Surrey County Council, responsible for maintaining the tree, had been criticized for its tree inspection procedures. However, he concluded that the council could not have reasonably been expected to do more to prevent the incident. Mr. Collett remarked: "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."
He added: "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."
Inspection Details
The inquest previously heard that 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, it was revealed that the tree had a crack that was not visible from ground level. A re-inspection was scheduled for May 2024 but did not occur due to prioritization of other inspections.
Mr. Collett noted that there was "no sound evidence that a re-inspection by May 2024 would have revealed either a dangerous crack or a rope swing." He rejected criticisms of the council's inspection regime, stating: "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."
Warning Signs Considered
The inquest considered whether advisory notices warning against rope swings could have prevented the tragedy. Mr. Collett dismissed this possibility due to a lack of evidence that a rope swing would have been discovered in that period and doubts that children would heed such signs.
The assistant coroner declined to issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report, stating that "there is a sufficient system already in place." He concluded by paying 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."
