Six-year-old Ella Henderson died a day after being struck by a falling tree in Newcastle.
Image source, Family handoutA six-year-old girl was fatally injured by a decayed tree that was known to be in a “poor condition” and should have been felled, a court has heard.
Ella Henderson died in hospital after part of the willow tree collapsed on her at Gosforth Park First School, Newcastle, on 25 September 2020.
The Health And Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted Newcastle City Council over the schoolgirl’s death.
The local authority pleaded guilty at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
Prosecuting on behalf of the HSE, James Towey said a “large section” of the rotten tree next to the school playground collapsed and injured a number of children.
Although most of them sustained superficial injuries, the “weight of the piece of tree” meant school staff could not remove it from Ella, Mr Towey said.
Image source, Google
The court heard the tree had been inspected by a team from the council in February 2018 and the need for “further investigation” was identified.
But there was a “lack of further detailed investigation and the extent of decay wasn’t known but would have been revealed on closer examination, and no doubt the tree would have been felled”.
Mr Towey said the council had also “failed to communicate the need for a more detailed inspection to the school”.
On behalf of Newcastle City Council, Ben Compton KC said it offered an unreserved apology to Ella’s family.
He told the court although the council did have a comprehensive tree strategy “the bottom line is that that tree should have been felled”.
He said since the incident all trees on council land are individually given a safety category which is “effectively a risk assessment.”
Ella’s parents, Neil and Vikki, watched proceedings via video link and both broke down when their victim impact statement was read in court.
“She was just playing ballerinas with her friends,” her mother said. “Life is so unfair, she had so much to give this world.”
Ella’s family raised £30,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service in her memory, after it responded to the emergency when she was injured.
The hearing continues.
Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk.