Kendal sports pitch car crash victim is girl, 10, police say

A girl who died after being hit by a car which crashed through a fence and on to a sports pitch was 10 years old and attending a regular football session, police have said.

Witnesses described a scene of “sheer panic” as the car appeared on the pitch at Kendal rugby club just before 17:00 GMT on Wednesday.

An eight-year-old girl, also from Kendal, was injured and taken to hospital for treatment.

Cumbria Police arrested a 40-year-old man from Lancaster on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving but said there was “no indication to suggest that this incident was a deliberate act”.

The eight-year-old’s injuries were not life-threatening and the arrested man remained in custody, police said.

Eyewitness Scott Denney said it “all happened very fast”.

“Just as we got on to the pitch, a car came through the barriers at the top and then landed on the pitch,” he said.

Mr Denney, whose son attends the GT7 Football Academy which holds training sessions at the rugby club, said he had “no idea” how the car got on to the field.

“It was just sheer panic. It was just not very nice at all,” he said.

“The children were obviously scared but the coaches dealt with it really, really well.”

Staff got the children off the field and out of view of the crash site, he added.

“Last night there was a lot of families here that pulled together to give support to the mum and dad and friends of the little girl.”

Opposite the rugby clubhouse car park two buckled fence panels have been bent over on to the pitch.

People have laid floral tributes and Kendal Rugby Club has cancelled its fixtures this weekend.

Club Director Reg Burrow said staff were “shell-shocked”.

He said there was a kerb, footpath and fence between the car park and the playing area and “you wouldn’t anticipate any car could gain enough speed to land as it did on the pitch”.

The area’s MP, Tim Farron, said news of the crash was “utterly devastating”.

“There was this shared sense of utter shock and horror, the whole town is utterly, utterly devastated by this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Carlisle United South Cumbria Supporters Club said the “tragedy hits especially close to home”.

It said in a statement: “The loss of a young life and the serious injury of another child during football training is utterly heartbreaking.

“We share in the immense grief of the families and the entire Kendal community.”

The Reverend Canon Shanthi Thompson, from Kendal Parish Church, said a moment of silence was held after its Ash Wednesday service “because it’s so hard to find the words to say at a time like this”.

“Kendal is a very close community and many, many people will have links to the rugby club and people will know the children involved,” she told BBC Radio Cumbria.

Church assistant Norman Holloway said he went to the parish church first thing in the morning to help direct people to the candle holders.

“We’ve had a steady stream of people coming in all morning to light candles,” he said.

“We’re all devastated.”