Eight-year-old Minnie Rae Dunn fell to her death from her mother’s sixth-floor balcony after she went out to play with a friend. An inquest heard that the little girl was visiting the home of her mother, Rebecca Dunn, in Portsmouth, when she fell to her death at 6pm on August 24, 2023. Minnie Rae, who lived with her grandmother, visited the home of her mother, whose balcony was “cluttered”, the inquest heard.

The hearing heard that eight bin bags holding old clothes were scattered across the balcony at the time of Minnie Rae’s visit. It reportedly has a brick wall about a metre high with anti-pigeon netting above. While giving evidence, Ms Dunn said her daughter was “sassy” and a “good kid” who would sometimes go onto the balcony when she visited her home.

A cushioned pouffe chair, which was also on the balcony, had been moved away from the window by someone who went out for a cigarette, Ms Dunn told the hearing. The mother said that she refused to let her daughter and another girl go on to the balcony that day, but later gave in. She said it was “the biggest mistake of [her] life”.

Minnie Rae’s mother admitted to smoking cannabis earlier in the day of her daughter’s fatal fall. She explained to police officers that it made her “calm” and “drowsy” but she “did it for [her] mental health”.

When asked by Coroner Jason Pegg if it impacted her ability to care for Minnie Rae, she answered, “No.”

Ms Dunn added that she had not yet been able to grieve for her daughter, saying she was an “emotional mess”.

At the time of the incident, the hearing heard that the other girl on the balcony had attempted to grab the eight-year-old as she fell. “I couldn’t hold on, my hand slipped off as she was moving really fast,” she told the police.

Mr Pegg said that a neighbour had reported seeing Minnie Rae standing on something before she fell.

The coroner concluded that it was an accidental death, saying: “This was a desperately dreadful and tragic accident.”