THE devastated family of an 11-year-old girl who died after falling from a horsebox have called for seatbelts to be fitted in similar vehicles.

Kirsty-Lee King, of Fallbarn Crescent, Rawtenstall, died after a door of the horsebox opened on the M62 near Huddersfield.

An inquest in Leeds recorded a verdict of accidental death after the court heard how the schoolgirl was blown 12 feet into the air before crashing on to the hard shoulder of the motorway, fracturing her skull and damaging her brain.

She died in Leeds General Infirmary the next day and her organs were donated, saving the lives of three people.

After the inquest, Kirsty-Lee's mother Jane called for a change in the law to ensure similar vehicles are fitted with seatbelts.

She went on: "There should be a law for seatbelts in the back of these vehicles. I had an idea the verdict would be accidental death. I still don't blame anyone."

Kirsty-Lee's father, Nicholas, added: "Kirsty-Lee's death was an accident and we are all devastated by it." The inquest heard how horse-mad Haslingden High School pupil Kirsty had gone with family friend Steven Duffy and his daughter Samantha, eight, to collect the horsebox from Goole, East Yorkshire, on September 8.

On the way home town the girls were looking out of the window in the vehicle's converted living area when the door catch opened, flinging her out.

In a statement to the inquest, Dennis Grice, a lorry driver travelling behind the slow moving horsebox, said: "I saw what I thought was a coat being thrown out of the nearside window.

"As the wind caught it the object opened up to reveal it was a person blown upwards 12 feet from the ground and spinning as though performing a somersault.

"At this point I realised it was a child."

Samantha later told police: "We were just looking out of the window. Kirsty was leaning against the door when it came open and that was it."

Police accident investigator Keith Rayner said tests showed the lock was not faulty and it was probably Kirsty-Lee that had accidently operated the catch. Mr Rayner said the child would have been pulled out by the slipstream from the horsebox.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, West Yorkshire Coroner David Hinchliffe said he would not be making any criticisms or safety recommendations.

He added: "This was a one-off situation. These vehicles are designed for people to ride in the back."

But Nichola Gregory, of the British Horse Society, said: "It is not advisable to travel in the back of a horsebox.

"The living accomodation is designed to be used when the vehicle is parked and anyone who travels in a horsebox should be in seats fitted with seatbelts."

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