Death of 15-year-old Denis Ward at Appleby Horse Fair ruled an accident

The death of a teenager who died at Appleby Horse Fair has been ruled as an accident.

Denis Ward, 15, was travelling on the back of a trailer towed by a 4x4 vehicle and seen by multiple witnesses before he fell and hit his head in June last year.

During the inquest into his death at the Coroner's Court in Cockermouth, it was concluded that no one was to blame.

Evidence was given by police, doctors and witnesses throughout the hearing, suggested that Mr Ward was standing on the back of a moving horse trailer being towed up the Battlebarrow Road, in Appleby, on the evening of 9 June 2023.

Mr Ward was standing on the seat of a sulky - described as a small cart attached to a trailer - which stood approximately "two feet off the ground".

As the vehicle turned left, towards the A66, Mr Ward fell and sustained a head injury, which the coroner described as "unsurvivable".

He was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, on Teesside, where efforts were made to save his life, but he was pronounced dead days later on 14 June.

The driver of the 4x4 vehicle was completely unaware that Denis Ward had gone onto the back of his trailer, and police statements indicate that the practice of 'hitching a ride' up Battlebarrow "is prevalent among young people" making their way back from town up the nearby hill.

In a closing statement, the coroner described the incident as a terrible loss and noted that as the family approached the anniversary of his death, it is hoped the upcoming Appleby Horse Fair will pass without similar tragedy.

A warning has been issued to people coming to the Appleby Horse Fair reminding them to "not arrive too soon." The annual event starts on Thursday 6 June.

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