Inquest date set for tragic tot

A JURY will be called to hear the inquest of a three-year-old boy killed by a falling tree during the autumn storms.

Health and Safety Executive officials have been carrying out an investigation into the death of little Benjamin Davey, who died while walking with his mum in The Grove woodland at Felixstowe.

It is understood the HSE has now finished its inquiry, which has allowed the coroner's office to fix the date for the inquest.

This will be held on April 2 at Ipswich County Hall. Benjamin's family will be legally represented and a jury will be called to hear the evidence.

The 15-acre Grove on the edge of the resort remained closed for nearly three months after the accident.

Contractors were called in to carry out work on 230 trees which were damaged in the high winds in late October and the wood is now open for public use.

Tree surgeons climbed into the tree canopy to remove damaged branches, and also had to fell a small number of trees which had become unstable or badly damaged in the strong winds.

Benjamin was killed as he walked through the wood with his mum Veronica Deri. He suffered fatal head injuries after a tree landed on him.

He was rushed to Felixstowe General Hospital but there was nothing the doctors and nurses could do to save him.

Ms Deri and her partner and Benjamin's dad Andrew Davey, of Looe Road, Old Felixstowe, said Benjamin had loved nature and trees and wanted to walk through the wood. They had felt safe and sheltered from the wind inside the wood where many other people were also walking that day.

The HSE investigation looked at the state of the trees in the wood, which was kept open by Suffolk Coastal during the storm, unlike open spaces and parks owned by other councils, which took the decision to close.