A 14-year-old boy died from poisoning after eating yew tree berries and leaves during a walk in the park with his father, an inquest has found.
Benn Curran-Nicholls collapsed and was rushed to hospital a few hours after his daily walk through Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury, Manchester last September.
An inquest heard Benn, who had severe autism, enjoyed climbing the yew tree they passed on daily therapeutic walks, and his father was oblivious to the risks from eating the tree’s berries.
Coroner Andrew Bridgman has now issued a report about the dangers of eating yew tree berries, and critcised the "illogical" decision to not issue a public health warning in the wake of Benn’s death.
“On the morning of September 18, 2022, Benn and his father went for a walk in Fletcher Moss Park where, among other things, there was a yew tree that Benn liked to climb”, said the coroner.
“Benn ate some yew tree berries and also some of the leaves. Benn’s father was not aware of the poisonous nature of yew tree berries/leaves, and so took no action.
“Interestingly neither was, in his evidence to me, Manchester City Council’s Neighbourhood Manager for Environmental Health aware that yew trees were poisonous. “Later that day at about 6pm Benn suddenly collapsed.”
The coroner said yew tree poisoning in humans is rare but "a number of cases had been reported”.
The inquest was told of talks after Benn’s death between the council and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), when a decision was taken not to alert the public.
“We agreed at present that there was probably a risk of doing more harm than good from any comms put out, we would be very concerned about unintended consequences from comms messages, e.g. highlighting the risk of harm which may in turn provide a source for people to self-harm as a potential route for suicide”, an email said.
UKHSA concluded of a health warning: “We wouldn’t recommend issuing this at present on public health grounds.”
The email added: “We aren’t aware of yew tree poisoning being a frequent problem but if this becomes apparent, we will certainly revisit the communications.”
The Coroner recorded the cause of death as “yew tree poisoning”, and disagreed with the “illogical” conclusion reached by UKHSA.
“Berries and the like might be attractive to young children who would not recognise the dangers and risks, of even illness let alone death”, he wrote in his report.
“The poisonous nature of the yew tree is not, on the evidence, well known to the public.“The decision appears to be focused on comms solely about the yew tree and the risks of identifying an additional means of deliberate ingestion for suicide.
“No consideration was given to highlighting the risks of eating wild berries and/or leaves in more general terms.He added: “The decision not to put out public health messages, either specific to the yew tree or in more general terms, was not properly and fully thought through. It should be re-visited.”The inquest was told the council is currently carrying out a risk assessment of the yew trees in its parks, including the dangers posed by climbing.
The Coroner also noted: “No consideration had been given to putting up notices warning of the poisonous nature of the yew tree, and risks of eating its berries/leaves - neither at the entrances to the parks nor at the trees themselves.“Further, no consideration had been given to the posting of notices warning, in general terms rather than specifically yew trees, that, by way of example that some of the trees and plants are poisonous and may cause severe illness and perhaps death if eaten.”
The coroner’s report has been sent to the council and UKHSA, as well as being published online.
