Council ignored warnings about Otley flagpole that crushed toddler

Two-year-old River Webster suffered a cracked skull, bleeding on the brain and a broken foot when the 18ft pole, in the memorial garden in Otley, near Leeds, fell on her.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it was “pure luck” that she was not killed in the incident on March 31 last year. She will need regular medical checks in the years ahead.

Leeds City Council, which yesterday pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates’ Court to breaching health and safety law and issued a public apology, is now facing a heavy fine.

HSE inspector Julian Franklin said: “It is pure luck that this young child wasn’t killed.

“It was an incident that was easily preventable. The fact that the structure was rotting at the base had been raised by staff with managers on several occasions over the previous two years, but it seems the warnings were either not heard or not heeded.”

The court heard how River had been playing in the memorial garden, on Bondgate, waiting with her mother, Charlotte Hodge, for one of her siblings to finish a martial arts class when the pole collapsed on her head.

Scans at Leeds General Infirmary revealed a skull fracture, bleeding on the brain and a broken foot.

River was kept in hospital for a week and continues to need regular X-rays and six monthly appointments with a neuropsychologist. This is likely to continue until she is at least five.

Mr Franklin, prosecuting, said investigations after the incident revealed the council had “ample warning” about the condition of the flagpole.

As early as November 2010 a maintenance inspection had revealed it was rotting.

The council’s bereavement service, which is responsible for maintenance, was told but took no action. There was similar inaction when further concerns were raised in May 2011.

Perhaps most damningly, nothing was done even after the flagpole was deemed unusable for the Remembrance Day commemorations in November 2011.

Mr Franklin said: “We have a history of Leeds City Council employees becoming aware of the state of the flagpole and nothing being done.

“Ultimately, on March 31 2012, the rotten wooden pole effectively pole-axed two-year-old River and she suffered significant injuries.”

Gill Marshall, representing the council, pleaded guilty on behalf of the authority to failing to maintain the flagpole so as to ensure that people using the garden were not exposed to risk.

She said: “Can I offer, on behalf of the council, a public apology to the young lady and her family.”

Mrs Marshall said repairs had been due to take place but added: “What this incident highlighted was that there was no system in place for tracking the works required to make sure they had been passed to the appropriate people, carried out and inspected.”

She said there was confusion about whether maintenance of the flagpole was the responsibility of the city council or Otley Town Council. All war memorials had been inspected following the incident and procedures had been tightened.

“The council has worked very hard to make sure the system is robust and will prevent this kind of injury occurring in future,” she said.

Philip Atkinson, chairman of the magistrates’ bench, said the council’s maintenance procedures had been “inadequate” and there was “confusion” over who was responsible.

He added: “Adequate procedures have now been put in place, but that was after the event and may be of little consolation to River and her family.”

The council will be sentenced at crown court after the magistrates heard they could impose a maximum fine of £20,000.