Further details have been presented at the inquest into the death of 11-year-old Lilly Angel Rodgers, who died when a sharp branch hidden beneath mud pierced her chest at a Cornwall beauty spot.

The hearing was told that Lilly, from Devon, had stayed overnight at a friend's house before joining them at Wacker Quay in Torpoint on 16 August 2025. When Lilly was injured, a third adult joined the mother and her partner on the mudflats in an immediate attempt to reach her before the emergency services were called, reports Cornwall Live and other national outlets.

Lilly had been sliding down a muddy bank roughly 50 metres from the shore on land sloping toward a channel in the River Lynher when the accident occurred. She was described to the hearing as a fit, active girl who loved outdoor pursuits including surfing, climbing, camping, and stand-up paddle boarding.

The mother of the two friends Lilly was playing with told the hearing she had called the children closer to maintain a direct line of sight while preparing a barbecue. After returning, the children continued playing, making starfish shapes and sliding headfirst down the bank.

Upon finishing the slide, Lilly stood up, clutched her chest, and gasped before falling forward into the mud. The screams of the other children alerted the adults, who began the difficult rescue across the terrain alongside a third adult who arrived to assist.

Paramedics attended the scene, but meaningful CPR could only begin after a coastguard search and rescue helicopter airlifted Lilly to dry land. The recovery operation took 40 minutes across the mudflats. Lilly was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where she was pronounced dead.

A post-mortem examination by Dr James Garvican, consultant pathologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, identified a seven-centimetre wound near the top of Lilly's ribcage. He recorded the cause of death as penetrating chest trauma after the hidden branch severed a pulmonary artery, causing immediate cardiac arrest. Dr Garvican confirmed the injury was unsurvivable.

Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances or third-party involvement. The inquest heard that the site is owned by the Ministry of Defence and leased to the Tamar Community Trust, with no similar incident recorded there in 40 years.

Andrew Cox, senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, concluded that Lilly had been properly supervised in what he termed "the most truly, desperately and unlikely accident." Additional warning signs have since been installed at Wacker Quay.

I'll continue to track the findings from the coroner's court as further details emerge.