AN 11-YEAR-OLD boy from Oxfordshire died after crashing into a tree during a family ski trip to the US.

Benjamin Trichler, from Uffington, hit a tree as he went down a blue, intermediate run at the Breckenridge Resort in Colorado.

A statement released by the coroner's office in Colorado said his death was accidental and caused by a "closed head injury".

The coroner said Benjamin had been wearing a helmet, but that it was not one approved for skiing.

The 11-year-old had been on holiday with his family over Christmas, starting off in the Denver area on December 21 and then moving to Breckenridge Ski Resort on December 30.

An emergency ski patrol was called to the resort yesterday morning at around 9.30am local time after the accident and the boy was given life support and taken to Breckenridge Medical Centre.

But paramedics could not save him and he was pronounced dead at just after 10am.

The resort said later in a statement: "Breckenridge Ski Resort, the Breckenridge Ski Patrol and the Vail Resorts family extend their deepest sympathy and support to all of his family and friends."

Resort spokesman Nicky DeFord told reporters that no one else was involved in the incident, which occurred in clear weather.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said last night that it had no details of the incident.

Breckenridge, in the Colorado Rockies, was originally founded in 1859 as a gold mining town but is now regarded as a world-class ski resort.

Mining ended there in the 1940s and it was feared the town would disappear until it was turned into a resort and officially opened in 1961.

At 2,926 metres, it is significantly higher than most European resorts and has North America's highest chair lift as well as the country's highest hikeable ski terrain.