Girl, 6, killed at school by falling tree that council should have cut down
A GIRL of six was crushed to death by a decaying tree a council should have felled, a court heard yesterday.
Newcastle City Council has been fined £280,000 for failing to cut down the willow that fell on Ella Henderson.
The pupil was playing with friends in the Gosforth Park First School playground on September 25, 2020, when a large section of the tree crashed down on them during high winds.
The other youngsters scrambled out but Ella had to be freed by emergency services. She died in hospital the next day.
The tree had been identified as decaying two-and-a-half years earlier. But a follow-up inspection
‘Life is so unfair and she was so loved’
by an under-qualified team missed danger signs. It should have been felled, South Tyneside magistrates’ court was told.
Ella’s parents Neil and Vikki watched proceedings on video.
In a statement read to the court, Mrs Henderson said: ‘The hardest part is that all we did was what every other parent does every day.
‘She should have been so safe at school and knowing that I’m the only one who doesn’t get to pick their child up every day is just the worst feeling.
‘When I pass schools on the way somewhere and hear that innocent noise of children playing, I think that was all she was doing.
‘She was just playing ballerinas with her friends. Life is so unfair, and she was so loved and had so much to give this world. As her reception teacher said, “The world is a much sadder place without Ella in it”.’
James Towey, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said: ‘Ella was playing with her friends on the playground when a large section of a willow tree that stood on a grassed area adjacent to the playground collapsed and fell directly on to several children.
‘All of them, apart from Ella, were able to climb out from under it and they suffered only superficial injuries. But because of the large piece of tree that fell on to Ella, staff were unable to effect a rescue immediately.’
Newcastle City Council was contracted by the school to maintain trees on its premises. A qualified arborist spotted signs of decay on the tree in February 2018.
But a further inspection was not done by a specialist with the highest qualification from Lantra – a training body for forestry.
The weather on the day, with gusts of up to 32mph, had an effect but the failure to properly investigate the tree’s condition made its collapse foreseeable, Mr Towey said. The lawyer added: ‘The arboriculture team failed to identify the level of decay in the tree, if they had done the tree would likely have been felled.’
Ben Compton KC, for Newcastle City Council, said a full review of its arboricultural services was due in 2020 but had been shelved because of the pandemic.
The council pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety law.
District Judge Zoe Passfield imposed a fine of £280,000 on the council, with £8,201 in costs.