Tree that crushed 12-year-old girl to death 'should' have been given recommended work but there was no 'concrete plan', council manager tells inquest

By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:40, 24 April 2026 | Updated: 15:56, 24 April 2026 A tree that crushed and killed a 12-year-old girl 'should' have had recommended work carried out but no 'concrete plan' was made, a council manager told an inquest. Brooke Wiggins died days before her 13th birthday after she fell from a rope swing attached to a large branch of the tree, which suddenly snapped off and crushed her to death. Work to remove ivy on the beech tree, maintained by Surrey County Council, which concealed a crack, was never carried out by council workers despite the recommendation following a review in May 2022. Katherine McDonald, the council's group manager for countryside, told the hearing on Friday the work was given a priority rating of five, meaning it 'should' take place within 12 months of the inspection. When asked to explain what is meant by 'should', Miss McDonald said she had received advice from tree surgeon James Wade but this did not amount to a 'concrete plan'. A re-inspection was scheduled for May 2024, but this did not take place, South London Coroner's Court heard on Wednesday. The inquest previously heard the recommendation to remove the ivy was to 'aid future inspection' of the tree, which, after Brooke's death, was revealed to have had a 'crack' not visible from ground level. Miss McDonald told the hearing the council must 'juggle' competing priorities, and deliver residents the best value for money by tackling 'the highest priority first'. She said: 'They can't be, because we would require flexibility… to be able to juggle different priorities and ensure that on the spectrum of priority, we are providing the most value for money for our residents, and that would be tackling the highest priority first.' Brooke Wiggins died days before her 13th birthday after she fell from a rope swing attached to a large branch of the tree, which suddenly snapped off and crushed her Brooke was playing with friends when the branch snapped and caused her to become trapped Miss McDonald said the number of trees the council is responsible for is 'in the millions, not the thousands', and it would not be possible to complete all work recommended by the team responsible for maintaining trees in the county. She told the hearing that the tree is metres behind the nearby bridleway, and the council was not aware of the area being accessed by the public. After the branch snapped off the tree and trapped Brooke, her friends called for help and brothers Edward and Patrick Delaney tried to save her, but were not able to remove the fallen piece of wood.  Ambulances were called to Grove Place in Banstead, Surrey, and it took between 90 minutes and two hours to free Brooke using specialist equipment, but the schoolgirl had suffered severe injuries and died soon after. The inquest previously heard the council's policy is to remove rope swings from trees within seven days. On Friday, Miss McDonald said it was 'standard practice' for the council to remove rope swings from trees and at least 15 are removed by the council each year. In areas where multiple swings are found, it is the council's policy to consider putting up advisory notices warning against them, the inquest heard. Miss McDonald said that if she had been aware of swings hanging from the tree from which Brooke was swinging, such signage would 'certainly' have been considered. When asked by Christian Weaver, who represents Brooke's father Lee, whether signs had since been put up at the site of the accident, Miss McDonald replied: 'No.' She said: 'The branch had already fallen and the rope swings were on that branch and were not on any other tree in the area. 'We would envisage putting them on a specific tree, where a specific tree is an issue, rather than a general location.' When asked how the council educates the public about the dangers of rope swings, Miss McDonald described countryside education as 'not an easy subject'. She added: 'Where there is an activity taking place that is undesirable, if you highlight it, it can draw attention to it.' Information about the dangers of rope swings is issued by the council as advice to schools, Miss McDonald said. The inquest heard a 'serious incident group' had been set up following Brooke's death to decide what should happen to the tree. When asked by Tamar Burton, who represents Brooke's mother Claire Etherington, whether the group consulted with the local community, Miss McDonald said this would have been deemed 'insensitive'. She added: 'That group was very concerned about being sensitive.' When asked if any of Brooke's family were invited to join the group, Miss McDonald said: 'No, and for exactly the same reason. This was a purely administrative group, administrating internally - it was not an external group.' After Brooke's death, the council decided to 'monolith' the tree – to reduce it to a trunk, despite it being considered healthy, 'because of what's happened', the hearing was told. The inquest previously heard how Brooke had been playing with two friends at the time of the incident, referred to as Friend A and Friend B. In a police interview, Friend A said the swing was used by Friend B for about five minutes, before Brooke played on it for about two minutes until 'the branch started shaking and it fell on her ribs', assistant coroner Ivor Collett said. The inquest heard Friend B told police the swing, a branch tied with rope, sat low to the ground and 'didn't feel safe at all'. Brooke's friends went in search of help when she fell and found brothers Edward and Patrick Delaney, who lifted the branch and attempted resuscitation before paramedics arrived. However, Brooke died at the scene, with her cause of death recorded as blunt force trauma to the chest with traumatic asphyxia. In a statement read by assistant coroner Ivor Collett on behalf of Brooke's mother, Brooke was described as a 'beautiful, fun, caring and loving girl' who had 'the most incredible way of lighting up every room she went into'. 'She was always surrounded by the people who loved her, and it's easy to see why – she gave so much love back,' her mother said. Ambulances were called to Grove Place in Banstead, Surrey, and it took between 90 minutes and two hours to free Brooke using specialist equipment (general view of the scene) Brooke loved dancing, art, singing and taking photographs and took pride in expressing herself, and 'never went anywhere without her eyelashes on', she said. 'She was a smart girl with so much potential. We will always wonder what she would have gone on to achieve in her life.' Ms Etherington added that she hoped knowing what happened to Brooke would bring 'a small sense of closure' and 'some understanding'. In a second statement read by Mr Collett, Brooke's father told the inquest his daughter was an 'amazing young woman', who was 'bright' and 'very funny'. He said: 'I am devasted that my baby girl has been taken from me. She packed so much into her short life. 'Only 12 years old, and now she's gone forever. When I think of her, I ask myself, "Why my darling Brooke?" 'If only people had done their job properly - the one thing they are paid to do, and did it properly, Brooke would still be here,' Mr Wiggins added. Speaking at the start of the hearing, Mr Collett had said: 'This is a particularly sad inquest. 'Of course, there are no happy inquests, but this is dreadful because it concerns the death of a young child and there's no escaping that. 'To the family, I am bound to sound, at times, rather cold and distant… (but) I do not take away for a moment the unending pain felt by the family by the loss of their beloved daughter.' At a pre-inquest review last October, assistant coroner Mr Collett told how the the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had carried out an investigation, alongside tree experts from Surrey County Council, the local authority which owned the tree. A different local authority, the London Borough of Sutton, owned the land on which Brooke fell. Mr Collett said: 'What this inquest will really be about is the role of Surrey County Council in respect of the ownership and maintenance of the tree.' He added: 'There is no suggestion that Brooke and her friends were doing anything wrong. It was public land. There was a bridleway they walked along to get to it. 'It's not as if they clambered over a fence to gain access to land they were prohibited from.' The assistant coroner told the hearing that it was 'a tree that any normal child might look at and think it was a tree for playing on'. Mr Collett said police bodyworn footage would be too distressing to play in court. He added: 'It's so upsetting to think of a 12-year-old child in this situation. It's the most terrible thing for any family to endure. 'We owe it to Brooke to investigate properly and allow a conclusion to be fully informed.' No comments have so far been submitted. 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