Newcastle City Council fined after decaying tree collapsed on girl

A assembly has been fined £280,000 aft a six-year-old miss was killed by a falling histrion successful her schoolhouse playground.

Ella Henderson died successful infirmary aft portion of the willow histrion collapsed connected her astatine Gosforth Park First School, Newcastle, connected 25 September 2020.

Newcastle City Council admitted breaching information laws implicit her death. A tribunal heard that the incidental "could person been avoided".

Ella's parents said she "had truthful overmuch to give" and had near "a implicit hole".

South Tyneside Magistrates' Court heard the histrion which killed Ella and injured a fig of different children was known to beryllium successful a "poor condition" and should person been felled.

Prosecuting connected behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), James Towey said a "large section" of the rotten histrion adjacent to the schoolhouse playground collapsed and injured a fig of children.

Although astir of them sustained superficial injuries, the "weight of the portion of tree" meant schoolhouse unit could not region it from Ella, Mr Towey said.

The tribunal heard the histrion had been inspected by a squad from the assembly successful February 2018 and the request for "further investigation" was identified.

But Mr Towey said determination was a "lack of further elaborate probe and the grade of decay wasn't known but would person been revealed connected person examination, and nary uncertainty the histrion would person been felled".

He added the assembly had besides "failed to pass the request for a much elaborate 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 tribunal that though the assembly did person a broad histrion strategy, "the bottommost enactment is that that histrion should person been felled".

He said since the incidental each trees connected assembly onshore are individually fixed a information class which was "effectively a hazard assessment".

Ella's parents, Neil and Vikki, watched proceedings via video nexus and some broke down erstwhile their unfortunate interaction connection was work successful court.

"Life is truthful unfair, she had truthful overmuch to springiness this world," her mother, from Newcastle, said.

In a statement, she added "every azygous part" of her family's lives had changed and determination was present "a implicit spread successful our lives".

She said: "It's not conscionable the large things similar birthdays, holidays and Christmas, it's besides each the tiny mundane things similar not washing her clothes, not buying her toys oregon apparel but knowing what she'd love, not mounting her spot astatine the array oregon booking a array successful a restaurant.

She described "an bare seat astatine a array for four" and an bare furniture connected a vacation enactment arsenic "a changeless reminder, not that we volition ever request one, that she's not here".

"Seeing everyone's beingness determination connected and their kids and her friends getting older portion we enactment still; ever with a six-year-old who volition ne'er get her beforehand teeth is devastating.

"When I walk schools connected the mode determination and perceive that guiltless sound of children playing, I think, that was each she was doing. She was conscionable playing ballerinas with her friends.

"The hardest portion is that each we did was what each different genitor does each day. She should person been truthful harmless astatine schoolhouse and knowing that I'm the lone 1 who doesn't get to prime their kid up each time is conscionable the worst feeling.

"Knowing that I volition ne'er instrumentality her to school, oregon a enactment oregon vacation again - determination are nary words to picture however this feels."

Ella's household raised £30,000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service successful her representation aft it responded erstwhile she was injured.