Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Gary Porter & Emily Withers

Schoolgirl, 11, dies in garden accident while on video call to friends

An 11-year-old girl died after a tragic incident in which she accidentally strangled herself with the rope on a garden swing, an inquest heard.

Grace Patricia Hamnet, from Widnes, was on a group video call with school friends when tragedy struck at her home in Cheshire on May 23 this year.

She died at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool five days later, CheshireLive reported.

An inquest Grace's death was held at Warrington Coroner's Court on December 6. The inquest heard that Grace was discovered by her mum who had gone outside to ask her to keep an eye out for their McDonald's delivery.

Her mum's screams alerted the neighbour who jumped over the fence to help, before performing CPR on the youngster.

Grace was in cardiac arrest when the ambulance arrived at the home and attempts to resuscitate her continued during the journey to Whiston Hospital.

She was eventually stabilised and remained "deeply unconscious" before being transferred to Alder Hey in Liverpool.

In written evidence read out at the hearing, Dr Carla Thomas, a pediatric intensive care consultant said: "Grace was perfectly fit and well on the morning of May 23.

"She had last been seen playing in the garden at home while on a video chat with friends."

Her mum later found her unconscious caught in the swing.

When Grace arrived at Alder Hey she underwent a CT scan which revealed that she had sustained a brain injury resulting from the loss of oxygen and blood supply.

The inquest heard that an MRI scan the following day confirmed that Grace had a "devastating brain injury" with neuro surgeons concluding that there was nothing more that could be done.

Grace, who was born in Warrington, died on May 28.

Written evidence from Detective Inspector Robert Lees, of Cheshire Constabulary, was also read out at the hearing.

It stated: "She had been on a group chat with school friends.

"They indicated that during the telephone group conversation Grace had showed them the rope and said 'I'll be able to put my neck through this and hang myself. She said it in a joking way."

The hearing was told that Grace had previously said this on WhatsApp.

After stating this to her friends, Grace's phone was left pointing to the sky and there was no further communication from her, the inquest heard.

Her friends became scared and notified their parents who contacted the relevant authorities. DI Lees said Grace's mum had made it clear that her daughter would not self-harm and was a happy child.

She'd just received a good school report, the hearing was told.

A Cheshire Constabulary investigation confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace's death and no third party involvement.

"There were no concerns from anyone about Grace", said DI Lees.

Assistant coroner Heath Westerman accepted the medical cause of death - hypoxic ischaemic brain injury due to strangulation.

He said there was no evidence of intent to self-harm, and concluded that Grace's death was accidental.

"My heart goes out to Grace's parents, in particular her mum due to the traumatic way she found her daughter in difficulty."

For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our free newsletters here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.