60mph sledge death; Girl, 16 died as sled hit fence.

Byline: DAVE HIGGENS 

A CORONER said yesterday that she would be recommending that a popular sledging slope is either closed to the public or a dangerous fence across it is permanently removed after hearing how a 16-year-old girl died in a horrific accident.

An inquest was told that Francesca Anobile died after the improvised sledge she was travelling on crashed through a wire fence after sliding 200 metres down a steep slope at speeds of up to 60mph.

Francesca was with four friends when the accident happened in the Rother Valley Country Park in South Yorkshire, in February after the girls decided to use an upturned Land Rover roof to go down the slope, which is a popular sledging location.

Rotherham Coroner's Court heard that the girls went to the park to go snowboarding after the heaviest snowfall in the area for 16 years.

But when they saw the slope packed with families and other people sledging, they decided to join in.

Witnesses described how the improvised sledge set off at such a speed that everyone on the hillside stopped to watch.

After 200 metres it crashed through the wire fence which had been put up in 2006 to keep sheep out of an area used for archery.

As it hit the fence, Francesca was thrown off and suffered serious brain injuries from which she later died.

The sledge continued for another 70 metres before it smashed into a more substantial wooden fence, injuring the other girls, some seriously. Rotherham Coroner Nicola Mundy recorded a verdict of accidental death. But she said she would be writing to Rotherham Council, which operates the park, to recommend safety measures.

CAPTION(S):

Francesca Anobile who died after she crashed through a barbed wire fence on a makeshift sledge