National Trust school trip suit

The families of children injured when a large tree branch fell on them during a school trip are suing the National Trust for damages, reports the Telegraph.

Eleven-year-old Daniel Mullinger was killed when the two-ton branch landed on top of him, and three of his friends suffered severe injuries.

The children were taking part in a treasure hunt in the grounds of a stately home run by the National Trust.

Lawyers representing the victims claim that the National Trust failed in its duty of care to visitors, and that the tree should have been identified as high risk and the branch removed. The National Trust has denied liability, claiming that its regular inspection of the tree had found nothing wrong.