Police launch investigation into mudslide death of girl, 10, who died on school trip to celebrate end of SATS exams

23/05/2024

Leah Harrison, 10, was caught up in the disaster near Carlton-in-Cleveland

Police have launched an investigation into the death of 10-year-old Leah Harrison who was tragically killed in a mudslide during a residential school trip.

The schoolgirl was killed while on an educational forest walk at Carlton Bank on Wednesday afternoon, just days after finishing her SAT exams.

North Yorkshire Police and a Health and Safety executive will carry out a joint investigation into her death.

A spokesperson for the HSE said: 'We are aware of this incident and working with North Yorkshire Police on a joint investigation.'

The schoolgirl was caught up in the disaster near Carlton-in-Cleveland, North Yorkshire, while on the trip to Carlton Adventure after a morning of persistent rain.

Emergency services rushed to the scene at Carlton Bank just after 1pm yesterday.

A major operation involving 30 mountain rescuers was launched to save her, in weather conditions they described as 'very poor', but she sadly died at the scene.

Leah Harrison, 10, (pictured) from Darlington was tragically killed in a mudslide while on a school trip yesterday

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Floral tributes left at Mount Pleasant Primary School in Darlington (pictured)

One of the tributes left for Leah which reads 'beautiful girl fly high, please look down and help your mummy and sister'

A map showing where the children were staying at Carlton Adventure Centre and where the mudslide happened on Carlton Bank, near North York Moors National Park

A general view of Carlton Bank near Carlton-in-Cleveland

Leah was a 'much-loved' Year 6 pupil at Mount Pleasant Primary School in Darlington, County Durham.

Denise McGuckin, Managing Director of Hartlepool Borough Council, which operates Carlton Adventure, confirmed that Leah had been on an instructor-led walk at the time of the incident.

Paying tribute to Leah, family member Melissa Mullen said: 'Leah Harrison, the happy bubbly go lucky little girl.

'The beautiful smile, the giddy laugh, the silly jokes. You will never be forgotten baby girl.

'You will achieve your dream and become a player for the Lionesses. Spread those wings. May you rest in paradise.'

Ms McGuckin said: 'We can confirm that a tragic incident occurred during one of the Centre's instructor-led outdoor education forest walks near to Carlton-in-Cleveland yesterday.

'We are utterly devastated and heartbroken and our thoughts are with Leah's family and friends and all those affected.

'We are working closely with our partner agencies to carry out a full investigation and we are temporarily suspending all outdoor activities and residential breaks managed by the Council.

'Whilst the investigation is being carried out it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.'

Carlton Bank enshrouded by fog: The area was covered by a Met Office yellow weather warning which saw a month's worth of rain fall in 12 hours on Wednesday

Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team and other emergency services at the scene in Carlton-in-Cleveland, North Yorkshire

A general view of Carlton Bank, Cleveland, North Yorkshire, yesterday

A general view of Carlton Bank where the mudslide happened yesterday

The area around Carlton Bank had seen almost a month's worth of rain in a day

Gary Clarke, callout officer for Cleveland Mountain Rescue, said conditions were 'very poor'.

He said: 'It was very wet all day, quite foggy and misty up there and very cold and it made the conditions very hardgoing for the rescue.'

He said 19 rescuers initially turned out, increasing to 30 as the severity of the operation became apparent.

They used a 'technical rope rescue system' to recover her body from the dangerous landslip, Mr Clarke said.

He said the incident happened on a path off the Cleveland Way.

'As far as we are aware, they were part of a school party, where exactly they started and where they were going, we're not sure, we don't get to see that side of things,' he said.

'We were acting on behalf of the police service. But there was just a school party out for a walk on the North York Moors which many schools do quite often, all year round.

'It's really a matter for the police investigating now, we're not exactly sure what happened, but from what we can gather what we saw in that scene, it was just something of a freak force of nature accident.

'It's something that we've never seen or experienced before.'

Carlton Adventure Centre, where the school party was staying before Leah died in mudslide

Gary Clarke, who assisted with rescue efforts, described weather conditions as 'very poor'

Chief Executive of the Lingfield Education Trust Nick Blackburn said: 'The full details are still emerging but this is clearly a heartbreaking tragedy.

'Leah was a much-loved part of our school and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and the school staff.

'Counselling is being arranged within the school for pupils and 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.'

Residents of Carlton-in-Cleveland have since spoken of their devastation following the tragedy.

One shocked local, who lives close to where the mudslide happened, said: 'It's a devastating situation.

'We saw a tremendous amount of emergency vehicles with blue lights flying past the house. It was around 1pm when they came and 5pm when they left.

Aerial view of Carlton Bank, where the children were on an instructor-led walk when tragedy struck

The 10-year-old girl was on a school trip at Carlton Bank on the edge of the North York Moors National Park when she was caught in a mudslide just after 1pm yesterday

'It was pouring with rain yesterday, which would have made the area sloppy and the rescue quite difficult. We've been left with a lot of questions about what happened.'

Another resident added: 'There were three fire engines, six police cars and an air ambulance called in to help.

'The route is on the coast to coast so it attracts walkers from all over the country.'

One neighbour said: 'It is very rare that someone gets hurt while walking along there.

'It would have happened on the side of the mountain near where we live. It's very steep. It's a difficult route because there are a lot of old mines there.

'Emergency services rushed past our house. Mountain rescue and police were there.

'There were a lot of private cars as they always call in volunteers to help on these rescues. It's very sad.'

The tragedy happened after a morning of wet weather in Carlton-on-Cleveland

A road closure in place near the scene at Carlton-in-Cleveland which saw a morning of persistent rain

Another anonymous local added: 'I used to ride on the mountain as a child on my bike but they had to close it for a while to secure it.

'The hillside surface was crumbling away but I don't know if it's still like that.

'There are always hikers going up there and dog walkers.'

In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said: 'We can confirm that one person has sadly died as a result of the incident. Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time.

'We ask the public to avoid the area to allow our teams to work efficiently and to respect the privacy of those affected.

'We are actively gathering information and will provide further updates as soon as we can. We would ask the public to refrain from speculation and spreading unverified information.'

The area was covered by a Met Office yellow weather warning which saw a month's worth of rain fall in 12 hours on Wednesday.