Watchdog leads probe into schoolgirl's death

Leah Harrison's family said they would always remember her beautiful smile

An investigation into how a 10-year-old girl was killed by a mudslide during a school trip has been taken over by the national regulator for workplace health and safety.

Leah Harrison, a Year 6 pupil at Mount Pleasant Primary School in Darlington, was taking part in a school residential trip, at Carlton Adventure, in Carlton-in-Cleveland, when the tragedy occurred in May.

The incident happened during one of the centre's instructor-led forest walks, at a time when weather warnings were in place.

The site is operated by Hartlepool Council, which said it would "continue to work with the Health and Safety Executive" while it carries out its investigation.

Leah, described by her family as a "happy, bubbly, go-lucky little girl" with a "beautiful smile", was one of a number of pupils on the trip, following the conclusion of SAT tests the previous week.

A Met Office yellow weather warning for heavy rain was in place for the area on the day of the incident.

In a new statement, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the watchdog overseeing workplace health and safety matters, said: "After working closely with North Yorkshire Police, we are now leading the investigation into the death of 10-year-old Leah Harrison on 22 May 2024."

Heavy rain had been falling in Carlton-in-Cleveland, with a weather warning in place at the time of Leah's death

The council said it would be "inappropriate to comment further" while the HSE investigation was ongoing.

In a statement released in May, the authority's managing director, Denise McGuckin, said the council was "utterly devastated and heartbroken" following the tragedy, adding it was working with partner agencies to conduct an investigation.

All outdoor activities and residential breaks managed by the authority were temporarily suspended following the incident.