Great Orme walk which led to Scout’s death ‘grossest possible failure’

Benjamin Leonard, 16, of Stockport, suffered fatal head injuries when he fell about 200ft after slipping from the Great Orme in Llandudno while on an Explorer Scouts trip on August 26, 2018.

On the sixth day of the third inquest into his death, held at Manchester Civil Justice Centre today (January 11), it was heard that more senior members of the organisation were “misled” by the Scout leaders responsible for the trip.

The plan for the two-day trip had been to hike up Yr Wyddfa, but that changed on the second day to a walk up the Great Orme due to a forecast of adverse weather.

In “very wet” and windy conditions, Benjamin and two others fell behind, and were without a leader but within eyeshot of them.

Benjamin Leonard (Image: Family handout)

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There were three leaders on the trip - Sean Glaister, Gareth Williams and Mary Carr – but none were suitably qualified first aiders for the trip, a breach of Scout rules.

A hike up the Great Orme was also said to have not been adequately risk-assessed, meanwhile.

Brian Garraway, a group Scout leader who was a qualified first aider, was believed by some to also be going on the trip, but did not.

Craig Jones, acting district commissioner for Stockport District Scout Council from August 2018 to January 2020, said he was told an “untruth” regarding Mr Garraway’s whereabouts.

Mr Glaister, the main Scout leader on the trip, should have been suspended immediately after the incident pending further investigations, Mr Jones told the inquest.

When asked by Bernard Richmond KC, counsel for Benjamin’s family, “You were actively misled, were you not?”, Mr Jones replied: “Yes”.

That there were people aged 18 or older on the trip was also cause for great concern for Mr Jones, he said, as Scout also prohibit adults remaining in youth sections of the organisation.

Mr Richmond added that the trip to the Great Orme, under all of these circumstances, was the “grossest possible failure”.

A first request by Mr Glaister for this trip to take place was rejected by Mr Jones due to no suitable first aider being listed, but a revised application, to which Mr Garraway’s name was added, was later approved.

In addition, Mr Jones said he was incorrectly told that Ms Carr was the Scout leader in charge of the trip.

“They’ve disappointed me,” he said, adding that the trip should not have gone ahead in the absence of a suitably qualified first aider such as Mr Garraway.

The three leaders were not suspended but were put on “restricted duties”, such as not to undertake any overnight trips or hiking activities unless with an unrestricted leader.

Steven Holloway, county commissioner for the Greater Manchester East area of the Scout Association at the time, also told the inquest that the trip “should either have not gone ahead or should have stopped”.

Mr Holloway added that he did not know then, and still does not know now, at what point it transpired that Mr Garraway would not be going on the trip.

He requested to those more senior to him in the organisation that all individuals involved be suspended “to be safe”, while investigations could be carried out to find out “who did what”.

Though he was involved in a walk of the Great Orme in October 2018, two months after Benjamin’s death, Mr Holloway said his only other involvement with investigations was to arrange a venue for solicitors and leaders to meet.

Mr Holloway said he was also told in a meeting that there were fears that suspending the leaders may prejudice investigations, which were still ongoing at the time.

He said he was also told that Mr Glaister was the only person who went on the trip who had previously walked on the Great Orme.

“Each leader has an area of responsibility within an event,” he said.

“If there is a breakdown of an event, then there is culpability for all leaders.”

The inquest will continue tomorrow, and is due to conclude in three weeks’ time.