Girl's balcony fall death was 'tragic accident'

An eight-year-old girl fell to her death from a balcony while she was visiting her mother's sixth floor flat, an inquest has heard.

Minnie-Rae Dunn, who lived with her grandmother in Southsea, toppled over a wall at Pickwick House in Wingfield Street, Portsmouth, in August 2023, the hearing was told.

Another girl who was playing with her tried to save her but Minnie-Rae's leg slipped through her hands, the coroner heard.

Hampshire acting senior coroner Jason Pegg said the death was a "desperately dreadful tragic accident".

Hampshire Police previously confirmed that a 43-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of child neglect was released without charge.

Giving evidence, Minnie-Rae's mother Rebecca Dunn recalled how the two girls asked to play on the balcony, which was full of objects including a cushioned seat and bags of clothes.

She said: "I did say no at first but I'm a sucker for her eyes.

"I ended up giving in and that is the biggest mistake of my life."

Ms Dunn said she had smoked cannabis in the morning as well as an hour before her daughter fell at 18:00 BST on 24 August.

The coroner asked whether that had affected her ability to look after the girls. "No," she immediately replied.

In a statement read by the coroner, the second girl described how she ran and grabbed Minnie-Rae as she started to fall.

The girl, who cannot be named, said: "I was touching her feet as she fell."

A neighbour, Shannon Crystal, said she was watching the girls when one "made herself taller by climbing on to something".

In her statement, she said she later saw that pigeon netting around the balcony was "torn and ripped down" and emergency services had gathered on the concrete below.

Concluding the inquest, Mr Pegg said Minnie-Rae had fallen after standing on an object "so that her waist was above the wall of the balcony".

In a handwritten statement following the inquest, Ms Dunn said her daughter was a "happy, lovable, sassy little girl".

She added: "She was loved by all that met her... Her passing had and continues to have a massive impact on our lives.

"Her smile was just as bright as the sun. We will have to love you from afar, but that love will never, never stop."

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