Mudslide death of Leah Harrison, 10, on school trip is probed by cops as it’s revealed she was on guided walk
COPS are probing the death of a 10-year-old girl who was killed in a mudslide tragedy while on a school trip.
Leah Harrison sadly died after being caught up in the disaster at around 1.15pm in Carlton-in-Cleveland, near Middlesbrough.
Dozens of emergency service workers spent hours battling to save Leah’s life at the scene near Carlton Bank after a morning of persistent rain.
But North Yorkshire Police confirmed the Year 6 pupil had died yesterday evening while on a guided walk.
Leah, who was named as a student at Mount Pleasant Primary School in Darlington, was on a one-day school trip to Carlton Adventure after finishing her SATS exams before she was caught up in the mudslide.
Now, it has been revealed that a joint investigation is being carried out by North Yorkshire Police and the Health and Safety Executive to establish what happened.
A number of floral tributes have since been left at Mount Pleasant Primary School including a small teddy football with the writing ‘Leah No1’ on it.
Balloons have also been attached to the school sign.
Nick Blackburn, chief executive of the Lingfield Education Trust, said: “Leah was a much-loved part of our school and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and the school staff.
“We are all in a state of shock and we would ask that the privacy of the family and the school community is respected while we try to come to terms with what has happened.”
The education boss described the mudslide as a “freak event” and claimed the woodland walk was risk assessed by trained instructors.
Mr Blackburn said: “Yes, there were weather warnings.
“There was a mudslide so the weather has had an effect on what happened but the cause and effect bit of the incident is difficult to understand.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/28085788/heartbreaking-tributes-schoolgirl-leah-harrison