Boy, 10, 'fell to his death' after being left unsupervised on mountain

A boy Scout aged 10 fell 500 feet to his death after being left unsupervised to "pick his way" down one of Britain's highest mountains by a perilous descent which was unknown to his scoutmaster, a manslaughter trial was told yesterday.

Jonathan Attwell, the youngest of a party of 12 scouts from Bristol, fell from Mount Snowdon in North Wales as his troop was led down the mountain's east ridge, a descent so dangerous that no parent would countenance a child attempting it, the prosecution at Caernarfon Crown Court alleged.

Peter Finlay, the scout leader in charge of the group, denies manslaughter.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Robin Spencer QC said: "No boy of 10 could be expected to tackle such a descent safely on his own." The ridge had "no clearly defined path. There were false trails leading very quickly to the sheer face of the mountain where quite literally one false step could very well mean death".

Jonathan, a boy with no climbing experience, wandered over the mountain's edge after becoming detached from the group's leaders, on a clear, sunny day in October 1999.

Mr Finlay, 51, from Warmley, Bristol, failed in his duty to ensure that he or one of two other adults with the group was at the back "to see the youngest and the slowest was safe," said Mr Spencer. "It was an accident that should never have happened."

Among other "disturbing features" in the case was Mr Finlay's failure to retain a qualification held by Scout group leaders, known in the movement as an M Certificate, because he did not meet a new requirement that leaders should hold a specific kind of first-aid certificate.

The jury was told that the defendant had attended "well-respected" national training courses to obtain a qualification to lead mountain walking expeditions but was not awarded the certificate because he had not met all the criteria.

The Scouts Association neither picked up on the fact nor regarded it as significant, leaving the onus on Mr Finlay. He told police that senior members of the association were aware he was still leading parties and had raised no objection, the jury was told.

Mr Finlay had also failed to adhere to an association policy to leave a "route card" at the hostel base, notifying others of his anticipated route and return time in case of emergency. It was, Mr Spencer said, "symptomatic of the rather casual attitude [he] was adopting".

When Jonathan's father contacted him two days before the trip raise concerns that his son only had experience of lowland walks on grass and scrubland and might struggle "to keep up", Mr Finlay was said to have replied: "We'll only go as fast as the slowest."

Mr Finlay denies the charge. The trial is is expected to last for two weeks.