Nursery World - York College Nursery: Lydia Bishop's death was 'completely avoidable'

Prosecutors have told a jury that the death of three-year-old Lydia Bishop at York College Nursery was ‘completely avoidable’.

In his closing speech for the Crown, Robert Smith QC said two principal failures led to the death of Lydia Bishop, who became entangled in a rope on a slide in the nursery’s outdoor area on 17 September 2012.

Mr Smith said that the college management failed to ensure that health and safety measurements were not only in place, but were being followed by staff at the nursery.

The second failure was by nursery worker Sophee Redhead in failing to act when she saw Lydia going towards the slide that afternoon.

Robert Smith QC told Leeds Crown Court in simple terms that Lydia ‘was allowed to venture to the slide in the nursery entirely alone and completely unsupervised.’

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