Lelaina Hall's mother reaches 'out of court settlement' with council

Published: November 27, 2006
Lelaina Hall's mother reaches 'out of court settlement' with council

The mother of five year-old Lelaina Hall, who died at Berrow, near Burnham-On-Sea, in 2002 has settled her legal case with Sedgemoor District Council out of court.

A brief statement issued by Sedgemoor District Council on Monday said: "The hearing scheduled for Monday November 27th for judgement to be handed down in the Hall v Sedgemoor District Council case will not now go ahead."

"The matter has been settled out of court. There will be no further comment from Sedgemoor District Council on this matter."

It comes after the five-year-old died when she became trapped in low-tide mud four years ago.

Lelaina's mother, Caroline, pictured above, entered a claim relating to an alleged breach of duty of care, covering a lack of warning signs on the beach to warn families of the danger.

The case began in 2002, before the inquest into Lelaina's death, as the family sought every avenue they could to make sure there could be no repeat of the tragedy.

The tragedy of Lelaina's death sparked a campaign to buy a hovercraft to patrol the coastline, and the Spirit of Lelaina is now in its third season of operation, having rescued and helped more than 95 people.