Boy killed by falling mirror in store - inquest

Freddie Farrow was just about to start Year Two prior to his death

A five-year-old boy died from a "catastrophic brain injury" after a mirror that had come apart from a bracket fell on him in a department store, an inquest heard.

Freddie Farrow touched a mirror "with very little force" while looking at his reflection and it toppled onto him at the Fenwick store in Colchester, Essex, on 27 July 2021, a police report stated.

The mirror, which was 2.6 metres (8ft 6in) high and nearly 60cm (2ft) wide, "must have been very near or on its balance point", the hearing at Essex Coroner's Court was told.

Freddie was initially taken to Colchester Hospital and then transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where he died on 2 August 2021.

The mirror had been placed on the floor and attached to the wall by brackets before it fell, the inquest heard

The mirror was estimated to weigh between 60kg and 80kg (132lb and 176lb), temporary Det Ch Insp Michael Pannell told the inquest.

Det Ch Insp Pannell, reading from the report written by Det Insp Fred Tomkins, said: "It was my view that this part of the bracket between the two metal brackets had effectively come apart, leaving it freestanding and leaning against the wall."

"The initial report was that a large mirror had fallen on a child," said Det Ch Insp Pannell, adding that the boy had been found "unconscious".

After touching the mirror it "appears to shimmer before moving forwards", said Det Ch Insp Pannell.

Det Insp Tomkins' report said "very little force was used by Freddie, and my view is the mirror must have been very near or on its balance point".

Freddie's mum Natasha Ingham described her son as a "amazing little boy"

Senior Coroner Lincoln Brookes said the "distressing" CCTV footage would not be played as part of the inquest.

He told the jurors a "large mirror attached to a column fell over on top of [Freddie], causing very serious head injuries".

The CCTV showed Freddie entering the lingerie section of the store with his mother and her friend, Det Ch Insp Pannell said.

Freddie's mother, Natasha Ingham, who attended the hearing with other family members, described her son as "cheeky and funny and clever".

She said: "He was always smiling which was like a ray of sunshine."

His father, Andrew Farrow, who was not at the hearing, said in a statement, read by the coroner's officer, that it "feels like part of our world is missing".

The inquest, estimated to last four to five days, continues.