Scout Leader Cleared Of Manslaughter

The Scout Leader who was accused of manslaughter after a ten-year-old boy in his party died in an accident on Snowdon has been found not guilty.

Peter Finlay, 51, from Bristol, denied the manslaughter of Jonathan Attwell during a walk on the mountain on 16 October, 1999. The boy fell 500 feet to his death while descending the East Ridge of the mountain after falling behind the rest of the group.

During the trial in North Wales, experts said that the route chosen - up Crib Goch and down the East Ridge - was 'inappropriate' for a young and inexperienced group, however the jury did not find that Finlay was negligent to a criminal degree.

For more details see this BBC report.

The accident was one of several fatal incidents involving Scout parties which led to the Scout Association instigating an internal inquiry and tightening their regulations governing mountain trips. However voluntary groups are not subject to licencing regulations in the same way as commercial expeditions leading to one member of the Welsh Parliament calling for the introduction of national standards.

Alun Pugh, AM for Clwyd West is reported as saying: The dangers are exactly the same. And many parents think if their children are going with a properly organised voluntary group, then certain safety standards will be in place. That is unfortunately not always the case."