Teen boy fell to his death after taking wrong path on Scout trip

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Ben Leonard, 16, tragically lost his life during a Scout trip to north Wales.

His mother had bid him farewell, believing he would be safe on the journey to Llandudno, but sadly, he never returned.

Ben met with a fatal accident at the Great Orme in Llandudno in August 2018 when he strayed from the group onto a narrow ledge and fell 200ft, sustaining severe head injuries. The Reddish lad had recently received good GCSE results from Denton Community College and was set to study filmmaking at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays, dreams that were left unfulfilled.

Following a two-month inquest at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice last year, a jury ruled that Ben's death was an unlawful killing by the senior Scout leader and an assistant Scout leader on the trip, with neglect by The Scout Association also contributing. However, the ordeal didn't end there for Ben's mother Jackie and their family.

Scout leaders Mr Sean Glaister and Ms Mary Carr sought to challenge the inquest's conclusion, applying for a judicial review of the findings of unlawful killing. This was heard at the High Court in Manchester in December last year.

The Scout Association denied requesting a judicial review and stated they have implemented 'a significant number of changes to improve our safety policies and procedures' in the wake of the tragedy, reports the Manchester Evening News.

On Thursday (January 30), Mr Justice Fordham ruled that the coroner had directed the jury fairly and correctly, dismissing the appeal to review the inquest findings. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News after the ruling, Ben's mother Jackie expressed her belief that the Scout Association is 'still not facing the facts' regarding her son's death, and that the Scout leaders on the trip 'don't think they've done anything wrong'.

"When they brought the review last year, we weren't surprised the outcome was being challenged," Jackie stated. "They just don't think they've done anything wrong, even now.

"It upsets me because they aren't facing the facts that their actions led to his death. Even after the conclusion they were still adamant.

"This has been a part of our lives now for six-and-a-half years. Going to court, having the pain dragged up again and people all trying to blame him.

"We are relieved it's over, but it will be strange not having to go back into a courtroom again because it's all we've known. We've had to sit by and let all this happen, and it's been incredibly difficult and painful. We have been powerless."

The inquest found that Ben was unlawfully killed. In February last year, five years of unimaginable grief reached an end when the jury returned their conclusion at an inquest into Ben's death.

The verdict was delivered at the third and final inquest, ruling that their son had been unlawfully killed - and The Scout Association was responsible. The inquest heard claims that Ben's family were deceived, with suggestions that the 'approach' initially adopted by the Scout Association was to blame the boy for the tragedy due to concerns over 'reputational damage' to the organisation.

During the inquest, the Scout leader on the trip, Sean Glaister, refused to answer a series of questions from Ben Richmond KC, lawyer for Fieldfisher, the law firm representing Ben's family. Mary Carr was identified as the assistant Scout leader on the trip.

After two months of evidence, the jury concluded that Ben had been unlawfully killed by the most senior Scout leader on the trip, and an assistant Scout leader, and that this was contributed to by neglect by The Scout Association. The coroner has requested the police to investigate TSA for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Prior to the walk up Great Orme, there was 'no brief, instructions or risk' assessment', the jury determined. Ben and two other scouts deviated from the main group and took a different path up the rock but one of the leaders 'did not give any instructions to regroup or stay on the safe path', stated the jury.

Ben and the two other scouts were 'left unsupervised' as they walked to the cliff edge, they said.

The teenager "Inquest found Ben was killed unlawfully in February last year, five years of unimaginable grief reached an end when the jury returned their conclusion at an inquest into Ben's death.

The findings were delivered at the third and final inquest, deeming that their son had been unlawfully killed - and The Scout Association was to blame. The inquest heard allegations that Ben's family were lied to, with suggestions the 'approach' initially taken by the Scout Association was to blame the boy for the tragedy amid worries over 'reputational damage' to the organisation.

During the inquest, the Scout leader on the trip, Sean Glaister, declined to answer a series of questions from Ben Richmond KC, lawyer for Fieldfisher, the law firm representing Ben's family. Mary Carr was named as the assistant Scout leader on the trip.

Following two months of evidence, the jury concluded Ben had been unlawfully killed by the most senior Scout leader on the trip, and an assistant Scout leader, and that this was contributed to by neglect by The Scout Association. The coroner has asked the police to investigate TSA for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.Ahead of the walk up Great Orme, there was 'no brief, instructions or risk' assessment', the jury decided.

Ben and two other scouts split off from the main group and went along a different path up the rock but one of the leaders 'did not give any instructions to regroup or stay on the safe path', said the jury. Ben and the two other scouts were 'left unsupervised' as they walked to the cliff edge, they said.

The teenager 'thought he could see a quicker way down the Orme and attempted to follow animal tracks down the cliff edge. During his descent, Ben slipped and fell from the cliff', the jury concluded. Ben died of a head injury.

Coroner David Pojur revealed he had written a 'prevention of further deaths' report which outlined a series of failures including, the inquest heard, that there was 'no effective leadership' in the group that day and that TSA had given a 'misleading impression' of its actions after the death."

The jury concluded Ben died of a head injury.

Coroner David Pojur revealed he had written a 'prevention of further deaths' report which outlined a series of failures including, the inquest heard, that there was 'no effective leadership' in the group that day and that TSA had given a 'misleading impression' of its actions after the death.

"All we want is for children to be safe".

Following the conclusion of the inquest, Jackie previously told the Manchester Evening News that the tragedy was made out to 'have been Ben's own fault'.

She said at the time: "It was just such a relief. It was like we had been finally vindicated, if you like. There have been times when people tried to make out it was Ben's own fault, so it was just such a massive relief."

At the beginning of the inquest last year, the third after two previous inquests were aborted, The Scout Association for the first time publicly apologised and accepted responsibility for Ben's death.

Speaking again on Thursday (January 30), Jackie called once again for a public inquiry to be held for the Scouts to be regulated by an outside body and have tougher legislation to 'prevent the deaths of other children'.

She is now actively campaigning with three other families who have tragically lost their sons during Scouts trips: Lee Craddock, 11, Scott Fanning, 11, and Jack Saunders, 21, who passed away on various expeditions between 1995 and 2018. With the Scouts association's statistics indicating that around 500,000 youngsters and 145,000 adults engage weekly in Scouting initiatives, the concern over safety is paramount.

Jackie expressed her deep frustration, saying: "This review has straight away caused us even more grief. What else did they think it would do?

"People commented saying my son was 16 and he should've known better. But he was still a minor, and under the supervision of adults.

"I know Scout leaders who are good and do what they should. The Scouts in general are people who do amazing work and we don't want to see them disbanded, but all we want is for children to be safe and looked after."

Highlighting concerns about oversight, Jackie questioned: "Who is checking these safety policies and procedures? They are looking after half a million children and I believe they should be regulated by an outside body. Nobody should ever have to go through what we've been through."

The Scout Association released a statement acknowledging 'changes' to safety measures, clarifying that they were not the ones to instigate the judicial review, which instead was pursued by Scout leaders at the helm. They reiterated that the well-being of children and young individuals remains their foremost concern and assured that 'significant' enhancements have been made to bolster safety rules and protocols.

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A spokesperson stated: "The safety and wellbeing of young people in our care is the number one priority at The Scouts.

"We did not ask for the Judicial review that took place in December 2024 or pay for the legal fees of the leaders who sought the judicial Review.

"We remain firmly committed to the actions we set out in our response to the Coroner's PFD report from the inquest in April 2024.

"As a result of this work we have already made a significant number of changes to improve our safety policies and procedures. We will be publishing the third update on this work in February.

"Each quarter the Scout Association reports its progress on the 'commitments that we made' following Ben's inquest and the issuing of the Prevention of Future Deaths report."

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