A young boy died when a falling tree fell on him during a pheasant shoot. An inquest heard that Jacob Gallon, nine, received a fatal head injury in the incident on January 29 this year as Storm Malik hit.
Jacob had been on the Heath House estate, near Tean, in Staffordshire, with his father Daniel Gallon at around 1pm. A part of a nearby tree split from the trunk and fell on to him, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports.
The air ambulance and other emergency services attended the scene, but nothing could be done to save Jacob, from Longton. Jacob and his dad had been walking to the third shoot of the day when the accident happened.
In a statement read out at the inquest, Mr Gallon said his son had been participating in shoots as a beater since he was five years old, and had been 'passionate' about shooting. He said the day had started out fine but, by the time of the third shoot, the wind had picked up.
He added: "We were walking over with a man called Barry. Jake was being his normal self, kicking me and calling me names. Barry's hat flew off his head, and Jake went to pick it up."
Mr Gallon then described hearing a loud crack as the tree came down. He added: "I looked for Jacob, I couldn't see him. I hoped he was far enough in front of me."
But he then saw his son beneath the fallen branch and could see that he was seriously injured. A 72-year-old man was also badly hurt in the incident.
A post-mortem examination found that Jacob had suffered a skull fracture. The medical cause of death was given as catastrophic brain injury due to a falling tree.
The inquest heard that while the wind was described as a gale by some witnesses, it was normal for shoots to continue in such conditions. An environmental health officer investigated the incident, and concluded no fault could be attached to anyone.
Tree expert Steve Massey found that the branch had split from the tree due to it being hollowed out and decayed, which may have been the case for 20 years. He said the branch had probably come down on that day due to the particular strength and direction of the wind during the storm.
North Staffordshire assistant coroner Sukhdev Garcha concluded that Jacob's death had been an accident. He said: "Having considered all the evidence, I can say that Jacob died as a result of catastrophic brain injury due to a falling tree.
"Having considered the evidence of both the environmental health officer and Steve Massey, I find that nobody was at fault. I conclude that the death was the result of an accident."
