Baby choking death inquest to be held with jury

Oliver Steeper died in hospital after choking at nursery in Kingsnorth, near Ashford

An inquest into the death of a nine-month-old baby who died after choking at nursery will be heard before a jury.

Oliver Steeper, from Ashford, Kent, died in hospital in September 2021, six days after the incident at the Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Kingsnorth.

A full inquest into his death will be held in May next year, lasting two weeks.

Speaking after a second pre-inquest review at County Hall in Maidstone, Oliver’s father Lewis Steeper said: “We’re pleased that the coroner has looked at it so in depth and has given the time to go through everything thoroughly.

"I think two weeks is a good time frame.”

Oliver Steeper's mother and father Zoe and Lewis hope to get answers from the full inquest

He added: “Every day there’s something that we’re doing for Oliver. It’s amazing but it’s so emotional at the same time because we’re trying to keep his memory alive in a positive way whilst dealing with this.”

The inquest will hear evidence from a number of witnesses including nursery staff who were on shift when Oliver died, as well as the governing body Ofsted.

Oliver’s mum, Zoe Steeper, said: “It’s going to be a tough couple of weeks for us. Knowing that we’re going to get to the end of it and we’re going to have answers and we’re going to know what happened to Oli, that’s the most important thing.”