A four-year-old boy died when a rotten tree trunk fell on him while he was on holiday, an inquest has heard. Louis William Ellor, from Devon, died while on holiday in Brittany, France.
Louis was staying with a grandparent in Saint Marine when a tree fell onto him. The inquest heard a manslaughter investigation had been opened against the landowners.
On August 28, 2019, Louis had been walking into the garden at a holiday home in France, behind his grandmother, Anne Gore, who, at the time, was on the telephone. Mr Arrow told the inquest that Mrs Gore heard a large cracking sound from behind her.
As Mrs Gore turned, she saw the tree fall on top of Louis. As she cried out, more people came out of the house onto the scene, reports PlymouthLive.
French police confirmed Louis had been hit by the trunk. Police said they arrived on the scene and performed CPR on Louis, though this was disputed by his father, Mr Ellor, who said he had performed CPR.
Evidence read by Mr Arrow revealed the tree had stood on the border of the holiday home, and a co-owners association. A statement read from the owner of the property said he had known the tree was dead, and had planned to remove it in the winter of 2019. He added the branches of the tree had been removed, and only the trunk remained.
A member of the co-owners association said they also knew the tree was dead, but had no idea it could fall so suddenly. He added they’d also been looking at removing the tree in the autumn.
The report of a French forester described the tree as a maritime pine tree of around 40-years-old. The trunk stood at 130cm and was 45cm in diameter at its widest point.
The diameter of the trunk when it hit Louis was estimated to be 36cm. The tree was also weighed at 762 kilograms. Evidence from the forester spoke of the tree’s rot at the hands of fungi and insects - hoof fungus was reportedly growing on the trunk.
