'No obvious defects' with tragedy tree

AN INSPECTION found that there were ‘no obvious defects’ with a tree just months before it fell and killed a man, an inquest heard.

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Darnell Cordingley, 26, was working as a traffic warden when he was struck by the Norway maple tree in Osborne Terrace, Sale. He suffered a ‘severe head injury’ and died at the scene on October 6, 2022.

Darnell’s friend, Samuel Smart, who was with him at the time, was also seriously injured. An inquest at Manchester South Coroners Court has heard that the roots on the tree that killed Darnell were found to have ‘decayed’.