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Safety barriers installed following child's death

Federica Bedendo
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
Handout Poppy Atkinson playing football. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail and she is wearing a black football kit. She is looking down at the ground.Handout
Poppy Atkinson, 10, died from head injuries after being hit by a car at football training

Safety barriers have been installed at a rugby club a month after a 10-year-old girl was killed by a car that struck her on the pitch.

Poppy Atkinson died from head injuries after a car crashed through metal barriers during a football training session at Kendal Rugby Club, Cumbria, on 5 March.

Concrete barriers have now been installed along the length of the playing field, with a number of local businesses joining forces to fund the work.

A 40-year-old man from Lancaster, arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, has been released under investigation. An inquest into Poppy's death was adjourned last month.

Reg Burrow, a director at the Kendal club, said safety measures had been reviewed in light of the crash, which also injured another child.

He said the club was "indebted to the kindness of the various businesses who came together" to help fund the 30 vertical 2.5 tonne concrete barriers.

"The terrible loss of Poppy has had a profound effect on our club, and of course the wider community," he added.

Six bouquets of flowers have been laid at the foot of a police cordon in front of the sports pitch. A woman wearing a bright hoodie and dark gilet stands with her back to the camera, bowing her head. A panel of green, metal fencing can be seen bent down on to the pitch, which has several five-a-side and full size football goalposts. The cordon is made up of orange traffic cones with blue and white police tape strung between them.
Poppy died in March after she was hit by a car on the pitch

The work was funded by Sellafield's delivery partners from The Decommissioning Alliance (TDA), i3 Decommissioning Partners and ADAPT joint ventures, while west Cumbrian businesses Forth and MCS installed the barriers.

Chris Shepherd, who works for TDA, said: "The thought that perhaps many may not return to the club because they were scared did not sit well.

"Of course, the new barriers will not bring Poppy back, but they will prevent a repeat of this tragedy."

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