12-year-old girl killed by falling tree branch at Banstead park, inquest hears

A 12-year-old girl was killed by a falling branch while playing on a rope swing which should have been removed by the council, an inquest has heard. Brooke Wiggins was just days away from her 13th birthday on 9 November 2024 when she was fatally injured at Grove Place, near the junction with Carshalton Road in Banstead, Surrey. The tree she was swinging from, which is maintained by Surrey County Council, had not been inspected since May 2022, South London Coroner's Court in Croydon heard on Wednesday. A re-inspection had been due in May 2024, but did not take place as scheduled. Acting on behalf of Brooke's father Lee Wiggins, Christian Weaver argued that, had checks been done, the swing should have been removed by the authority, "as per policy". However, representatives for Surrey County Council said expert evidence showed an inspection may not have achieved a "material different outcome". In a statement, read by Assistant Coroner Ivor Collett, Brooke's mother Claire Etherington called her a "beautiful, fun, caring and loving girl" who had "the most incredible way of lighting up every room". "She was a smart girl with so much potential", who loved dancing, art, singing and taking photographs, she said. "We will always wonder what she would have gone on to achieve in her life." In another statement, Wiggins said he was "devastated" by the death of his "bright, funny" daughter and questioned if she might still be alive had "people done their job properly".