Girl, 11, died after ‘unfortunate’ accident while playing with friends

An 11-year-old girl died after a branch beneath mud pierced her chest while she was playing with friends at a Cornwall beauty spot, an inquest heard. Lilly Angel Rodgers, from Devon, had been playing across the mud flats at Wacker Quay, Torpoint, when a “desperately unfortunate sequence of events” occurred.

The young girl, from Newton Abbot in Truro, had been sliding down a muddy bank when a sharp branch or root punctured through her ribs, the inquest heard. The inquest today heard how Lilly had been a fit, healthy and very active youngster who loved outdoor activities like surfing, climbing, camping and stand-up paddle boarding. The night before her heartbreaking accident, which happened on August 16, 2025, Lilly was at a friend’s house, the hearing was told.

Lilly and her two friends, with whom she was playing on the day of the accident, were all familiar with the spot at Wacker Quay, Torpoint. The three children were about 50 metres from the shore, where there was a bank sliding down towards a channel in the River Lynher.

The inquest heard how the mum of the other two children called them back to be within her line of sight while she and her partner prepared a barbecue.

The mum said the children were rolling around in the mud and “crawling commando-style”. She said that after she called them back, the three children continued playing, doing star fish before sliding headfirst down the mud bank where the channel was, Cornwall Live reports.

It was at that point that Lilly stood up, grabbed her chest and gasped before flopping down into the mud on her front.

The adults were alerted that something wrong was going on by screams from the other children and a difficult rescue unfolded.

The inquest heard how the other children’s mum and her partner tried to reach Lilly before another adult arrived and emergency services were called out.

The branch severed a pulmonary artery, which led to the girl’s heart stopping.

Paramedics arrived but meaningful CPR could only be carried out after the unconscious 11-year-old was airlifted to dry land by the coastguard search and rescue helicopter. It took 40 minutes to bring Lilly back to shore from the mud flats.

The young girl was subsequently transferred to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where she was pronounced dead.

James Garvican, consultant pathologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, later conducted a post-mortem examination on Lilly.

The inquest heard he was surprised to find a wound near the top of Lilly’s ribcage. He said the wound, when explored in detail, was 7cm deep inside Lilly’s chest.

Dr Garvican recorded a medical cause of death as “penetrating chest trauma”.

He told the inquest how it was most likely a branch or pointy root hidden below the surface of the mud in the bank caused the fatal injury.

He added: “It’s extremely bad luck. Half an inch to the right and it would just have glanced off her ribcage and left a bruise and a scratch. Half an inch to the left and it may still have gone in but it would not have damaged vital organs. This was not a survivable injury.”

Lilly had most likely lost consciousness immediately and would not have been aware of any rescue efforts or CPR being administered, he told the inquest.

Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement surrounding Lilly’s death. The force said that the area of Wacker Quay where the incident occurred is owned by the Ministry of Defence but leased to the Tamar Community Trust, and no incident of this nature had ever previously occurred in 40 years.

The ministry and the trust have since installed additional signage in the area to warn people of possible hidden dangers in the mud, the inquest was told.

Andrew Cox, senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said playing in the mud is the sort of activity done by children, adding: “It’s what I did too as a child.”

He added: “Whatever Lilly fell on caused the wound found at the postmortem and resulted in her death. There was nothing suspicious. In the circumstances it was the most truly, desperately and unlikely accident. Lilly slid on a branch with a sharp point that had been covered by the mud.

“Lilly and her friends had played many times before in that location. She was being watched over by adults who had made sure she stayed within their line of sight.

“There has been no previous incident of that nature at this site for 40 years. This is by any measure a desperately unfortunate sequence of events.”

Mr Cox concluded in an accidental death.