The trio were walking close to Corfe Castle railway station

Pamela Hudson, 57, from Harpenden, was walking with her husband and grandchild in Corfe Castle, Dorset, when the pine tree split and fell on her.

On Friday it was revealed that a tree surgeon had previously been called in to look at the trees.

Mrs Hudson is the first person in Britain to die in a tornado since 1913.

'Concern expressed'

Witnesses say the village was hit by a mini tornado which ripped slates off roofs and brought down power lines - leaving Corfe without electricity.

The incident in which Mrs Hudson was killed was investigated by members of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation.

They concluded that the twister was a T2 on the TORO scale which goes up to 10.

Passers-by were unable to lift the huge tree, and the victim died at the scene, next to Swanage Railway Station.

Nick Brown of Swanage Railway said: "There was concern expressed in the autumn of 2002 about one of the trees in that group.

"As a result of that we consulted a tree surgeon to make things safe - as far as we were concerned that was concluded and that was reported back at the 2003 AGM."

Dorset Police described it as a "freak accident" and said officers acting on behalf of the coroner were trying to establish if the weather at the time contributed to the tree falling.

Inquest opened

Both Mrs Hudson and her grandson were trapped underneath the large pine tree.

Firefighters pulled the boy free but she was pronounced dead.

An inquest has been opened and adjourned at Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Coroner's Court.

The cause of death was given as bleeding in the chest area due to being crushed.

The 1913 tornado reached speeds of up to 180 mph as it roared on a south-to-north route through Wales, killing a number of people.