Mum recalls 'worst day of life' as she learned mudslide had taken 'baby girl' away

A mum described the 'worst day of her life' when told her that her little girl had died in a mudslide on a school trip. An into the death of Leah Harrison, 10, today heard she was swept away as she crossed a stream during the trip to the Carlton adventure centre on the North Yorkshire Moors on May 22 last year.

Her Michelle Harrison told how 'football-mad' Leah had skipped to Mount Pleasant Primary in Darlington, Co Durham with her 'little suitcase' on the day before her tragic death. She had been poorly with tonsillitis in the days before she was due to leave for the trip.

Michelle had considered keeping her at home but she recovered and was 'so excited' to go. "She was like my right arm and never left my side," Michelle said in a statement read to the inquest at Teesside magistrates court in Middlesbrough. "She really wanted to go, she did not want to miss out.

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"I walked with her to school and Leah had her little suitcase, she was proud as punch. She was not going to cry when she left and she did not want me to either.

"I gave her the biggest kiss and cuddle and told her to have the best time." Michelle received photos and updates that day and a message on the day that Leah died to say they were doing activities.

"May 22 was the worst day of my life," her mum went on. "I knew they were starting activities and that was the last I heard until the police officers arrived at my door to tell me the worst possible news that my daughter had passed away."

She told how Leah loved football and inspired by England's Lionesses, wanted to be a footballer when she grew up. Coroner Paul Appleton told the jury that Leah had been crossing the stream when she was hit by a mudslide. She was taken 20m downstream and ended up head down in the mud so that only her wellies could be seen.

Rescuers were unable to reach her before she was asphyxiated. The mud meant that she was unable to get up. She was taken to James Cook Hospital but doctors were unable to save her. The water in the stream at the time was so low that it would not have come up above the children's wellies, the inquest heard.

The Carlton Adventure centre near Middlesbrough was run by Hartlepool Borough Council. Senior activity instructor Paul Godwin said that in his view the accident could not have been predicted. The was 'eerie, misty and drizzly' when he arrived at the scene, but he had seen similar conditions there many times before.

The Health and Safety Executive investigated the circumstances but took no further action. In a statement released shortly after the keen footballer's death, Leah's family said: "Leah Harrison, the happy, bubbly, go-lucky little girl. The beautiful smile, the giddy laugh, the silly jokes.

"You will never, ever be forgotten, baby girl. You will achieve your dream and become a player for the Lionesses. Spread those wings. May you rest in paradise." A major operation involving mountain rescue teams was launched to save Leah.

The inquest continues.