Care home fined £400,000 after tree fell on runner

A Southampton care home provider was fined £400,000 after a falling lime tree crushed a child who was running on a pavement outside the entrance to the home. It was subsequently found that the tree was diseased with a common fungus and had likely been rotting for several years prior to the accident.  An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that, over a number of years, the company had failed to have in place a strategy to manage trees.