A North East council is facing a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution after a six-year-old girl was killed by a falling tree at school.

Ella Henderson suffered serious injuries at Gosforth Park First School, Newcastle, in September 2020, and died the following day at the Royal Victoria Infirmary.

Read more: Family pay tribute 'beautiful daughter' Ella Henderson, 6, who was killed by falling tree in Gosforth

The Northern Echo:

The HSE said Newcastle City Council will face a charge under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The prosecution follows an investigation by HSE, initially led by Northumbria Police.

The first hearing will take place at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on January 10.

Following the tragedy, the family set up a fundraising page for the Great North Air Ambulance Service, who responded to the incident, and the page raised tens of thousands of pounds in Ella’s name.

The family said: “Ella is our beautiful baby girl now and always.

“We want to say a heartfelt thank you to the teachers, emergency services and the staff at the RVI who did everything they could to help her.

“We are truly humbled by all the support and donations, even from people we have never met before.

“She was so brave and so strong, she brought so much joy to us, her big sister Abi, her family, her besties and all who she met.

“We feel incredibly blessed to have had her in our lives. We had the perfect family and she will live on in our hearts.”

Speaking in 2020, Andy Mawson, director of operations at the Great North Air Ambulance Service, said: “The amount of money raised is incredible. I think it’s bittersweet for everybody.

"It’s just such a truly heartbreaking tragedy. To the family and friends we just wanted to say thank you. It really does mean the world to us. The fact that you’ve been able to provide support in such a horrendous time is truly humbling.

“The donations will make a huge difference. The money so far will cover the cost of around ten missions. That’s ten lives that we will directly be able to impact as a result of this action.

“We have nothing but absolute sincere gratitude for everybody involved, and for the community and the family and friends.”

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