Family Handout

Brooke was killed by a large tree branch

The death of a 12-year-old girl after she was hit by a falling branch while playing on a rope swing was accidental, a coroner has ruled.

Brooke Wiggins died in November 2024 after a large tree branch snapped off and crushed her in Banstead, Surrey.

The inquest had heard Surrey County Council (SCC) failed to inspect the tree months earlier and had not carried out work that could have made inspecting safety issues easier.

But Assistant Coroner Ivor Collett dismissed criticism of the council, and said Brooke's death was a "shocking accident".

He said SCC, which was responsible for maintaining the tree, could not have reasonably been expected to do more to prevent what happened - "bearing in mind their duties and...…