Widow fights for change over husband's tree death

Chris Hall's wife Fiona and son Sam said his death had been "utterly senseless"

A widow whose husband was killed by a branch that fell from a tree has said she will fight with "every bone of my body" to bring about change in his memory.

Christopher Hall, 48, died while he was walking his dog in The Carrs in Wilmslow on 28 August 2020.

Fiona Hall said it was "absolutely imperative that we have legislation across the UK for tree maintenance and safety".

Cheshire East Council said it had implemented a number of safety improvements since Mr Hall's death.

The authority was fined £500,000 over his death after it failed to investigate when a large branch had fallen from the tree a year before.

Both the council and its grounds maintenance firm Ansa were sentenced at Chester Magistrates Court in November 2024 for breaches of the Health and Safety At Work Act, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said.

Mr Hall had been walking in The Carrs in Wilmslow when a branch fell from a tree and killed him

Mrs Hall described her husband's death as "a monumental shock", adding: "It still is to this day."

"There's nothing that can prepare you for going for a walk and never coming home and when it's such an avoidable, senseless waste of life," she said.

The family are now campaigning for Chris's Law to enforce regular safety inspections.

"That money that the council have been fined could easily have been used to have proper inspectors in place and not just people who walk past and look at trees and say they're safe," she said.

The couple's son Sam added: "We don't want this to happen again.

"We need to enjoy these parks and not think 'are one of these trees going to land on someone?'"

Sam Hall said travelling had been one of his father's great passions

The campaign is being supported by their local MP Esther McVey and is scheduled to be debated in Parliament on Wednesday.

More than 34,000 have so far signed a petition calling for change.

"Because we are seeing and hearing more frequently about this lack of maintenance, we're saying there needs to be an obligation that they inspect the trees and cut them down," said the MP for Tatton.

Mrs Hall added: "I'm not going away until we get that, with every bone of my body, something good has to come out of what happened to Chris."

Councillor David Jefferay, who chairs Cheshire East Council's environment and communities committee, said: "Since this tragic incident, we have implemented a number of improvements in line with our adopted tree management strategy.

"Our priority is to ensure the safety of everyone who visits and enjoys our green spaces."