Mudslide death: Coach of girl, 10, who dreamt of being a Lioness says team ‘devastated’ by death
The football coach of a 10-year-old whose dream it was to become a Lioness has said the team is “devastated” by news of her being killed in a mudslide.
Leah Harrison died during a school field trip to Carlton Bank forest on the edge of the North York Moors, North Yorkshire.
A major operation involving 30 mountain rescuers was launched to save her, as heavy rain fell in the area, but she could not be saved.
Described as a “go-lucky little girl”, Leah was said to be “obsessed with football” and dreamed of becoming a Lioness.
Her Darlington Football Club coach John Woolnough said the team was “devastated to hear of the tragic passing of Leah”.
He said while Leah had only joined the “family” this season, she had “quickly become a popular member amongst the girls”.
“She was a joy to coach – always smiling and trying her best – and had shown big improvements during her time with us,” the coach said.
As a mark of respect, the club’s Under 11 game this weekend has been postponed.
A minute’s silence will be observed at every other youth match.
Lingfield Education Trust said Leah was a “much loved” pupil at Mount Pleasant School in Darlington.
Nick Blackburn, the trust’s chief executive, 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.”
Carlton Adventure in Carlton-in-Cleveland has suspended all outdoor activities and residential breaks
Mr Blackburn said in an interview with Sky News that Leah was “obsessed with football”, who dreamed of becoming a Lioness, before describing her as “very resilient a girl, she showed real grit and determination in her life”.
Her family described Leah as a “happy, bubbly, go-lucky little girl” and said “God only takes the best”.
“The beautiful smile, the giddy laugh, the silly jokes. You will never ever be forgotten baby girl,” it continued.
“You will achieve your dream and become a player for the Lionesses, spread those wings. May you rest in paradise.”
Shared on Facebook, the family said there are plans for a “balloon release” in a local field at 4pm on Monday.
The family is being supported by specially trained police officers.
It is understood Leah was on a school trip
Denise McGuckin, managing director of Hartlepool Borough Council, which operates Carlton Adventure, 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 near Carlton-in-Cleveland, North Yorkshire. Pic: Owen Humphreys/PA
On Wednesday, North Yorkshire Police said officers were responding to a mudslide which happened at 1.15pm in Carlton-in-Cleveland.
The force 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.”
No one else was injured during the incident.
The scene was cordoned off throughout the afternoon and members of the public were asked to avoid the area.
Zoe Ball is leaving her BBC Radio 2 breakfast show after six years.
The 53-year-old, who recently lost her mother to cancer, will present her last show on Friday, 20 December.
Ball leaves Wogan House with her replacement, Scott Mills. Pic: PA
She said she was leaving to focus on family, but will remain part of the Radio 2 team and will give further details next year.
Announcing the news on her Tuesday show, she said: “After six years of fun times alongside you all on the breakfast show, I’ve decided it’s time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter.
“You know I think the world of you all, listeners, and it truly has been such a privilege to share the mornings with you, to go through life’s little ups and downs, we got through the lockdown together, didn’t we?
“We’ve shared a hell of a lot, the good times, the tough times, there’s been a lot of laughter. And I am going to miss you cats.”
Scott Mills will replace Ball on the breakfast show following her departure next month.
“Zoe and I have been such good friends now for over 25 years and have spent much of that time as part of the same radio family here at Radio 2 and also on Radio 1,” he said.
“She’s done an incredible job on this show over the past six years, and I am beyond excited to be handed the baton.”
Hugging outside the BBC building on the day of the announcement, Ball said she was “really chuffed for my mate and really excited about it”.
Ball was the first female host of both the BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows, starting at the Radio 1 breakfast show in 1998, and taking over her current Radio 2 role from Chris Evans in 2020 after he left the show.
She took a break from hosting her show over the summer, returning in September.
Ahead of her stint in radio, Ball – who is the daughter of children’s presenter Johnny Ball – co-hosted the BBC’s Saturday morning children’s magazine show Live & Kicking alongside Jamie Theakston for three years from 1996.
She has two children, Woody and Nelly, with her ex-husband, DJ and musician Norman Cook, known professionally as Fatboy Slim.
Ball said in her announcement her last show towards the end of December will be “just in time for Christmas with plenty of fun and shenanigans”.
“While I’m stepping away from the Breakfast Show, I’m not disappearing entirely – I’ll still be a part of the Radio 2 family, with more news in the New Year,” she added.
“I’m excited to embrace my next chapter, including being a mum in the mornings, and I can’t wait to tune in on the school run!”
Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: “Zoe has woken up the nation on Radio 2 with incredible warmth, wit and so much joy since January 2019, and I’d like to thank her for approaching each show with as much vim and vigour as if it were her first. I’m thrilled that she’ll remain an important part of the Radio 2 family.”
Mills, 51, got his first presenting role aged just 16 for a local station in Hampshire, and went on to present in Bristol and Manchester, before joining BBC Radio 1 in 1998.
He’s previously worked as a cover presenter on Radio 2, but this is his first permanent role on the station.
UK
More prisoners are being transferred to less secure jails to tackle overcrowding crisis, Sky News understands
The prison service is starting to recategorise the security risk of offenders to ease capacity pressures, Sky News understands.
It involves lowering or reconsidering the threshold of certain offenders to move them from the closed prison estate (category A to C) to the open estate (category D) because there are more free cell spaces there.
Examples of this could include discounting adjudications – formal hearings when a prisoner is accused of breaking the rules – for certain offenders, so they don’t act as official reasons not to transport them to a lower-security jail.
Prisoners are also categorised according to an Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) status. There are different levels – basic, standard and enhanced – based on how they keep to the rules or display a commitment to rehabilitation.
Usually ‘enhanced’ prisoners take part in meaningful activity – employment and training – making them eligible among other factors, to be transferred to the open estate.
Insiders suggest this system in England and Wales is being rejigged so that greater numbers of ‘standard’ prisoners can transfer, whereas before it would more typically be those with ‘enhanced’ status.
Open prisons have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend time on day release away from the prison on license conditions to carry out work or education.
The aim is to help reintegrate them back into society once they leave. As offenders near the end of their sentence, they are housed in open prisons.
Many of those released as part of the early release scheme in October after serving 40% of their sentence were freed from open prisons.
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Overcrowding in UK prisons
They were the second tranche of offenders freed as part of this scheme, and had been sentenced to five years or more.
Despite early release measures, prisons are still battling a chronic overcrowding crisis. The male estate is almost full, operating at around 97% capacity.
Read more from Sky News:
Find out what it’s really like inside prison?
Prison recalls soar as justice system struggles
Campaigners demand IPP sentences are scrapped
Sky News understands there continue to be particular pinch points across the country.
Southwest England struggled over the weekend with three space-related ‘lockouts’ – which means prisoners are held in police suites or transferred to other jails because there is no space.
One inmate is believed to have been transported from Exeter to Cardiff.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a prison system on the point of collapse. We took the necessary action to stop our prisons from overflowing and to protect the public.
“This is not a new scheme. Only less-serious offenders who meet a strict criteria are eligible, and the Prison Service can exclude anyone who can’t be managed safely in a category D prison.”
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