Nurse was killed by wooden horse at festival in Padstow

A three-day inquest was held in Truro into the 34-year-old's death

A letter will be sent to the government with concerns about management of community events following the death of a nurse who was struck by a festival costume during a May Day celebration.

A three-day inquest heard how Laura Smallwood, 34, was hit by an 'Obby 'Oss - a wooden horse costume - in Cornwall.

She died three days after the parade in the coastal town of Padstow in 2019.

At the end of the inquest in Truro, senior coroner Andrew Cox said the two Osses posed a risk to the public.

He recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

Laura Smallwood died after being hit by a large costume horse

Addressing the hearing, Mr Cox said: "The packed nature of the streets, the fact people have inevitably been drinking alcohol and will not be paying full attention to what is happening around them, means the risk of inadvertent, unintended contact between the Oss and a member of the public is obvious."

The inquest previously heard there are two 'Obby 'Osses at the May Day celebration, and each has a separate organising committee.

'Frankly surprising'

It is believed Ms Smallwood was struck by the blue ribbon horse and fell unconscious at about 19:30 BST on 1 May 2019.

Mr Cox said in his conclusion: "On the evidence I find as fact that the Oss struck Laura and it is far more likely than not that this caused the injuries identified at post-mortem that led directly to her death."

The coroner said it was "fair to note" there was recognition that more needed to be done to improve the safety of the celebration.

However he added he found it "frankly surprising" an event of this size had "no single event organiser" who is involved with safety advisory groups, police or other external agencies.

Laura Smallwood's death has been recorded as accidental

"Sensible planning and risk reduction is inevitably compromised as a consequence," the coroner said.

"I want May Day to continue, and I want it to flourish, yet my professional colleagues have been called on to deal with disasters regularly over the past few years."

The senior coroner referred to the Manchester Arena bombing, Grenfell Tower fire, London Bridge incident and Shoreham plane crash in his summary.

He added: "Terrible things happen to innocent people at the most unexpected of times and I would be failing in my duties were I not to raise my concerns here."

Mr Cox will send a preventing future deaths report to the government with his concerns about events not needing to have an organiser, as well as touching on the police's lack of powers to stop them.

What are the May Day celebrations in Padstow?

• Thousands of people attend the annual May Day parade in Padstow.

• The exact origin of the centuries-old Obby Oss celebration is unknown, however it is thought it could be linked to the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane.

• It sees the Obby Oss dance through the streets of Padstow to welcome the coming of summer.

• Two black framed costumes or "osses" parade through the streets accompanied by dancers, drums and accordions.

• The oss costumes - red and blue - are worn by a number of people through the day.

Previous injuries

The inquest was previously told Mrs Smallwood's death may have been caused by injuries connected to different incidents in the lead up to her death, including a "scuffle" with another woman on the day of the parade.

There were also injuries caused by an unidentified event about 10 days earlier.

Mr Cox said Mrs Smallwood had not "recovered fully" from the injury, and was at "increased vulnerability or susceptibility" to further injury.

However, he said the connection between Ms Smallwood being hit by the Oss and her falling unconscious was "far more than coincidental".