Rope swing death a 'shocking accident', coroner says

The death of a 12-year-old girl after she was hit by a falling branch while playing on a rope swing was accidental, a coroner has ruled.

Brooke Wiggins died in November 2024 after a large tree branch snapped off and crushed her in Banstead, Surrey.

The inquest had heard Surrey County Council (SCC) failed to inspect the tree months earlier and had not carried out work that could have made inspecting safety issues easier.

But Assistant Coroner Ivor Collett dismissed criticism of the council, and said Brooke's death was a "shocking accident".

He said SCC, which was responsible for maintaining the tree, could not have reasonably been expected to do more to prevent what happened - "bearing in mind their duties and... and the public resources they have to manage".

He also pointed to "the huge number of trees" the council was responsible for.

The inquest previously heard the tree had been reviewed by the local authority in May 2022.

Removing ivy was recommended to "aid future inspection of the tree", which was found to have had a "crack" not visible from the ground after Brooke's death.

A re-inspection was scheduled for May 2024, but this did not take place because of prioritising other inspections, the inquest heard.

Collett said there was "no sound evidence" the re-inspection would have revealed the "dangerous crack or rope swing".

Terence Herbert, SCC's chief executive, said he extended his "sincere condolences" to Brooke's family and friends.

"We.... note the coroner's conclusion that this was a tragic accident," he said.

Brooke - who was just a few days away from her 13th birthday - died from blunt force trauma to the chest with traumatic asphyxia, said Collett.

When she got on the swing - which was a structure made from blue rope with a stick tied to the bottom to act as a seat - there was "very little or no warning" before there was a shaking noise as the branch above broke away and fell to the ground, he added.

It struck Brooke and trapped her beneath it "badly injured", the coroner said.

She was with two friends at the time, who tried unsuccessfully to lift the branch off her.

Two men from a nearby caravan park assisted them, and performed CPR until emergency services arrived.

She was pronounced dead at the scene just after 17:20 GMT on 9 November.

The inquest at South London Coroner's Court heard earlier a "pathway for avoiding Brooke's death" could have been putting up signs warning against rope swings.

Collett rejected this, and said "it is doubtful that vigorous children and teenagers would take much notice".

He ended the inquest by paying tribute to Brooke's family.

"They have provided a voice for her when she has been unable to speak for herself," said the coroner.

"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."