Overview
- At South London Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, the Health and Safety Executive said council policy requires rope swings to be removed within seven days and said it had seen no system that flags overdue tree inspections.
- The tree was last inspected in May 2022, and a re‑inspection due in May 2024 did not happen, according to evidence heard at the hearing.
- Later examinations found an internal crack on the upper side of the branch that ivy hid from view at ground level, which investigators said would have been hard to spot.
- Brooke Wiggins died in November 2024 in Banstead after a branch fell while she used a rope swing, and rescuers worked for up to two hours with specialist equipment before her death from blunt force chest trauma with traumatic asphyxia.
- Surrey County Council said experts doubt a fresh inspection would have changed the outcome, with the inquest also testing how its maintenance role related to land owned by the London Borough of Sutton.