THE teenage daughter of financier Ben Goldsmith died when she was trying to scare her friend by zig zagging in a mule vehicle on her father's farm.

Iris Goldsmith, 15, made a sharp turn on dry grassland and was flung out of the all-terrain vehicle which flipped over trapping her underneath.

She died from pressure on her neck after being pinned down by the metal roof of the six-seater mule.

An inquest in Taunton heard Iris had been seen driving the mule recklessly in the past.

Her friend said Iris had driven the vehicle, which had some defects, in that manner before to scare her.

Senior Somerset coroner Tony Williams recorded an accidental death conclusion.

He said Iris's driving caused the vehicle to overturn but its defects contributed to its instability.

He added: "Iris was simply having fun with her friend when this tragic incident occurred."

The inquest heard neither teenager was wearing a seat belt when the crash happened in July 2019 at the Goldsmith's 120-acre farm at North Brewham, near Bruton.

Mr Williams said Iris lost control of the mule and it flipped over on to its side trapping her neck which resulted in her sustaining fatal injuries.

Mr Ben Goldsmith said:"What happened to my daughter was an amalgamation of bad luck.

"The mule was not being used by anyone on that Monday which was unusual and bad luck.

"The ground was very hard after a two-month dry spell, which may have made the wheels skid which was bad luck."

He added: "It's unbelievably unfair. Iris was a force of nature. I don't think anybody could have stopped her doing anything she wanted to do."

Her friend said they were at the farm at the start of their school holidays and drove off in the mule to meet another friend to go horse riding.

She added that Iris was 'zig zagging across a field' when the mule flipped on its side.

The friend heard Iris say: "Please help me".

When the Goldsmiths' gardener Nick Marsh and other staff eventually freed Iris she was unresponsive and died at the scene, despite paramedics' efforts to save her.

Hayley Lippiatt, who worked in the stables, also tried to save her, saying:"It was a terrible tragedy. Iris was only 15 years old and a happy, lively girl who was well loved by those who knew her."

Ben Goldsmith's PA Astrid Peary said she had seen Iris riding recklessly on previous occasions.

She said: "I have seen Iris driving it in the past. I don't know who taught her. She used it on Ben's private land.

"I have seen her drive it well and I have seen her drive it recklessly on a number of occasions, zig zagging and making tight turns at speed, just messing around, but it was this sort of driving that led to this accident."

Mr Goldsmith bought the vehicle for staff to visit his ponds and wildlife on his land.

Police collision investigator PC Sharon Little said the mule had under-inflated tyres and other defects which would have played a part in the accident.

At Iris's funeral, her mother Kate Rothschild said: "I can't possibly begin to explain the ocean of grief we find ourselves in or the feeling of being shattered into 1,000 unfindable pieces.

"And even harder than that would be to explain her, to really do her justice.

"She was simply spectacular, her light was brighter than any I've ever known.

"She was just magical, but there aren't enough words, or I don't know how to find them at least.

"Iris was life giving and free and fun and wild, but she also worked harder than any girl I've ever known and she cared, she cared so much about living her best life.

"She had so many plans and dreams and ambitions and she was willing to put everything she had into reaching them."