The family of a 10-year-old girl who died in a mudslide at Carlton Bank near Carlton-in-Cleveland have paid tribute to her.
Leah Harrison, from Darlington, was on a forest walk on a school residential trip when the tragedy happened.
Her family have paid an emotional tribute to the youngster.
They said in a statement released by North Yorkshire Police: “Leah Harrison, the happy, bubbly, go-lucky little girl. The beautiful smile, the giddy laugh, the silly jokes. You will never ever be forgotten baby girl.
“You will achieve you dream and become a player for the Lionesses. Spread those wings. May you rest in paradise.”
Leah attended Mount Pleasant Primary School, part of Lingfield Education Trust.
Trust CEO Nick Blackburn said in a statement this morning: “The full details are still emerging but this is clearly a heartbreaking tragedy.
“Leah was a much-loved part of our school and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and the school staff.
“Counselling is being arranged within the school for pupils and staff.
“We are all in a state of shock and we would ask that the privacy of the family and the school community is respected while we try to come to terms with what has happened.”
Leah was on a year 6 residential trip to outwards bounds centre Carlton Adventure when the tragedy happened.
Denise McGuckin, managing director of Hartlepool Borough Council, which operates Carlton Adventure, said: ‘‘We can confirm that a tragic incident occurred during one of the Centre’s instructor-led outdoor education forest walks near to Carlton-in-Cleveland yesterday.
“We are utterly devastated and heartbroken and our thoughts are with Leah’s family and friends and all those affected.
“We are working closely with our partner agencies to carry out a full investigation and we are temporarily suspending all outdoor activities and residential breaks managed by the council.
“Whilst the investigation is being carried out it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.’’
The incident happened at about 1.15pm on Wednesday after heavy rain in the area.
Mountain rescue, firefighters, police and paramedics were called to the scene.
Police say nobody else was injured in the incident.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “We can confirm that one person has sadly died as a result of the incident.
“Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time.
“The area is cordoned off while we respond to the incident. We ask the public to avoid the area to allow our teams to work efficiently and to respect the privacy of those affected.”
Volunteers from Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team attended the incident.
A spokesperson said: “We were called by the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to a report of a mudslide near to Carlton Bank above Carlton-in-Cleveland village, North Yorkshire.
“A very short time later we were also contacted by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust with a similar report.
“Two Team Land Rovers and nineteen Cleveland MRT volunteer members were initially deployed, eventually rising to thirty at the scene during the course of the afternoon and working alongside our emergency service colleagues including the North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, in addition to the ambulance services.
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