A coroner rules the death of 12-year-old Brooke Wiggins in Banstead, Surrey, as a “terrible” and “shocking” accident. The inquest hears that in 2024 the girl was playing on a rope swing when a tree branch snapped and fell. She is then crushed by the branch’s weight, and her death occurs days before her 13th birthday.
Multiple reports describe the rope swing as being attached to a large branch of the tree. The coroner concludes that the circumstances could not have been foreseen, and that the death is not the result of wrongdoing. One outlet says the ruling clears Surrey County Council of blame.
The outlets differ mainly in wording and emphasis, with some characterizing the incident more dramatically, but all agree on the core facts: Brooke Wiggins is fatally injured by a falling branch while using a rope swing in Banstead, and the coroner records the death as an accident.
