Death of Charlotte Shaw
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Charlotte Shaw | |
| Date | 4 March 2007 |
|---|---|
| Location | Dartmoor, Devon, United Kingdom |
| Outcome | Narrative verdict |
Charlotte Shaw was a fourteen-year-old British schoolgirl who drowned while crossing a swollen stream on Dartmoor during training for Ten Tors in 2007. Her death, the first to occur in connection with Ten Tors or one of its training expeditions, made national news headlines in the United Kingdom. She was with a group of students from Edgehill College trekking the route of Ten Tors in training for the main event when the group got into difficulties crossing a stream. Shaw slipped into the water and was washed downstream. She was located 20 minutes later by a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter and airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where she died in the early hours of the next morning.
A police investigation concluded that nobody should be held criminally responsible for Shaw's death. The investigation was later criticised by the coroner, who adjourned the inquest and recommended that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reconsider the possibility of criminal charges. Three months later, however, the CPS reported that there was insufficient evidence to press charges and the inquest was resumed. After hearing testimony from eyewitnesses, including other members of Shaw's group, the inquest concluded with a narrative verdict in October 2010. In addition to the verdict, the coroner gave several recommendations for future activities of a similar nature. Among the recommendations were suggestions that both participants and the adult "team leaders" should receive better training.
On the same day Shaw died, 26 other participants had to be airlifted from the moor. The British Army, which organises Ten Tors, initially stated that the 2007 event would proceed as planned. However, in the light of severe weather and Shaw's death, it was abandoned halfway through. The rules for the event were modified before the 2007 event to allow teams to carry a mobile telephone for use in case of an emergency.
Ten Tors is an annual event organised by the British Army in which groups of young people, between the ages of 14 and 20, trek a route of 35, 45 or 55 miles (depending on the age of the participant) across Dartmoor.[1] The event started in 1960 with just over 200 teenagers taking part and has grown to include 2,400 teenagers from schools and youth organisations, mostly from the United Kingdom. The number of participants is capped at 2,400—400 groups of six—to minimise damage to the environment caused by the event.[2] Participants start from the British Army training camp at Okehampton and are required to carry all their supplies for the trek and spend one night in a tent on the moor.[3] Shaw's group, on a training expedition with dozens of other groups ahead of the main event, was accompanied by a teacher from Edgehill College designated the "team manager". All team managers undergo compulsory training, run by the Army and the Dartmoor Rescue Group, which involves trekking the route themselves.[4][5]
Charlotte Shaw was a 14-year-old from Frithelstock, near Great Torrington, Devon.[6] She was a student at Edgehill College, Bideford (after a merger in 2009, now Kingsley School, Bideford), where she was involved in various sporting activities run by the school, including captaining its netball and gymnastics teams. Shortly after Shaw's death was announced, the school released a statement in which it said "We are all shocked by the tragedy. [Shaw] was a delightful member of our school community".[7] Shaw was part of a group of 10 students from Edgehill who, along with 84 other groups, were training on 4 March 2007 for Ten Tors, which is held every May. Her death is believed to be the first to occur during, or training for, Ten Tors.[8][9]
Dartmoor is notorious for its rapidly changeable weather.[1] There had been heavy rain in the 12 hours prior to the accident, causing rivers and streams on Dartmoor to swell much higher than their normal levels.[7] On the same day, 26 other teenagers had to be airlifted from the moor due to the adverse weather.[8]
Death
During the training expedition, Shaw's group came to Walla Brook at a crossing near Watern Tor in the north-east of Dartmoor. According to evidence given at Shaw's inquest in 2009, the group believed they had to cross because the alternative route would add at least four miles to the trek. Another member of the group got into difficulties crossing the stream, which, due to heavy rain, had swollen to approximately five times its normal size.[10] The other group member removed her rucksack and passed it to Shaw. As Shaw, the last member of the group on her side of the stream, was throwing the rucksack across, she slipped and fell into the water.[11]
Shaw was knocked unconscious and swept downstream. A third member of the group raised the alarm by mobile telephone by 14:05 (GMT), less than five minutes after Shaw had been swept away, and Devon and Cornwall Police, a Royal Navy helicopter and the Dartmoor Rescue Group were mobilised to search for Shaw.[7][12] Believing that the weather conditions may be too bad for the helicopter to fly, members of the Dartmoor Rescue Group—a volunteer organisation which co-ordinates the four separate charities who undertake search and rescue operations on Dartmoor[13]—set out on foot in an attempt to reach the scene of the accident.[citation needed]
Shaw was found by the Royal Navy helicopter, approximately 20 minutes after the alarm was raised, 150 metres downstream from where she had fallen in. Due to poor visibility as a result of heavy rain, the other members of her group had been unable to see her from where they were standing. There were two adults in the group. A member of the helicopter crew explained: "There were two people waving their jackets and pointing into the river. Initially we thought 'Why are they not in the water helping?' what looked like a child face down in the water. Seeing the fast-flowing river, and how dangerous it would have been for them, there was no alternative for them to wait for us to arrive."[4]
The helicopter, from RNAS Culdrose, airlifted Shaw to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, but she died in the early of hours of 5 March.[7][12] The cause of death was later established as cardiac arrest as a result of drowning.[14]