Parents sue National Trust after falling branch kills boy

Posted 09/08/2010

The parents of a boy who was killed when a tree branch at a National Trust property fell on him are suing the organisation.

Daniel Mullinger was killed and three other children were injured while at the Felbrigg Hall property in June 2007.

The 11-year-old was at the park as part of a five-day break to Norfolk with 60 of his classmates from Heathlands Primary School in West Bergholt when the incident happened.

His teacher Christine Clarke told the inquest into his death that he had been sheltering from the rain under the large beech tree when she heard a crack and saw the pupils trapped under the branch.

The child’s parents are seeking compensation with the assistance of solicitors, but Peter Griffiths, regional director for the Trust in the east of England, stated that it was inappropriate to comment on the case in the preliminary stages.

It is estimated that every year around 14 million people visit paid-entry National Trust properties around the UK, with around 50 million spending time at its open air parks and gardens.

Simon Davis, a personal injury specialist at Kester Cunnigham John comments: ‘This is a very sad case. The general public may be surprised to learn that all his parents are likely to receive from this fatal accident is a bereavement award of