Inquest told of scout's cliff plunge tragedy

LEADER SAID SHE HAD NO CONCERNS THAT BEN, 16, WAS IN DANGER BEFORE HE FELL TO HIS DEATH

- THOMAS GEORGE

A SCOUT leader had "absolutely no concerns or worries" about a teenager shortly before he fell to his death from a cliff edge, an inquest has heard.

Ben Leonard, 16, from Stockport, was on an organised expedition with the Reddish Explorer Scouts when he suffered a serious head injury after plunging 200ft from cliffs on the Great Orme in Llandudno, North Wales.

An inquest into Ben's death was told he and two friends had separated from the other Scouts and were not accompanied by any of the three Scout leaders on the trip when he fell.

The Scout Association for the first time accepted responsibility for the death on the first day of the inquest, five-and-a-half years after Ben died.