Sledge crash: Girl dies in hospital

Feb 4 2009

A 16-year-old girl has died in hospital after being badly injured in a sledging accident at a country park.

Francesca Anobile was injured along with three other girls after crashing on a makeshift sledge in Rother Valley Country Park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said Francesca, from Sheffield, died at the city's Northern General Hospital at 6pm.

They named another of the girls as Nikki Burns, also 16 and from Sheffield, who was being treated at the city's Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

The other victims - described by emergency services as "walking wounded" - were taken to Rotherham District General Hospital.

It is believed the girls were sledging shortly in a field which had been fenced off to use for cattle grazing.

They were thought to have been using an improvised sledge made out of a piece of metal.

The girls are understood to have gone through a fence containing barbed wire before hitting another fence, which stopped them from falling into a river.

Francesca was airlifted to hospital after the crash. She was said to have suffered serious head injuries.

Three emergency ambulances, two rapid response vehicles, an air ambulance and a clinical team leader all attended the incident. The park is owned by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and is one of the biggest country parks in the area.