Boy died saving brother, inquest told

Boy died saving brother, inquest told

Christopher Vince died during strong storms

A teenager has told an inquest of the moment his younger brother was killed saving him from a falling tree.

Christopher Vince, 12, from Costessey, near Norwich, Norfolk, died when he was crushed by a beech tree during strong storms which swept through East Anglia in October last year.

Christopher was out walking with his brother Benjamin, 16, his sister Jessica, 10, another girl and the family dog in woods close to the family home when the tragedy happened.

The inquest, held on Friday, gave a verdict of misadventure.

Giving evidence at the inquest on in Norwich, his brother Benjamin said the wind started to get stronger while they were in the wood.

"Branches and things were falling off trees," he said, and they quickly decided to leave the wood.

He went on: "The wind became really strong. There was a loud crashing noise.

'Pushed out of way'

"He (Christopher) called to me to get out of the way.

"He shouted 'look out' and I didn't really hear him that well because of the noise, and he pushed me out of the way.

"It was strange it (the tree falling) was like it was in slow motion."

Benjamin was unconscious for a short while and then saw Christopher trapped under the tree.

A postmortem examination revealed he died from a chest injury as a result of being crushed, the inquest heard.