Kaden Reddick: 'Inadequate' fittings led to barrier fall, says expert

Kaden Reddick was fatally injured at Topshop in Reading's Oracle shopping centre

Inadequate fittings caused a Topshop queue barrier to topple over and kill a boy, an expert witness has said.

Kaden Reddick, 10, suffered a fatal head injury at the store in Reading during a family shopping trip in 2017.

Forensic engineer Stephen Tudor said he thought fittings securing the barrier plinth to the floor did not provide the strength to keep it in place.

Arcadia Group, Topshop/Topman and Realm Projects deny failing to discharge a health and safety duty.

Kaden had swung underneath the queue barrier, which contained sweets, when it toppled on him and caused him fatal injuries at the Oracle shopping centre branch on 13 February 2017.

The prosecution claim the plinth, over which the outer part of the barrier sat, had been fixed to the floor with only two narrow screws, and it was these which failed causing the 110 kg (17 stone) "wobbly" barrier to topple over.

Giving his opinion on why the barrier collapsed, engineer Mr Tudor said: "Fittings securing these plinths to the floor were inadequate.

"They did not provide enough strength to retain the barrier in place."

He added the fittings used were typically used for light switches, hanging pictures or shelves.

The court heard wall plugs - small plastic fittings capable of gripping and holding screws when installed in hard walls - were used to secure the barrier's plinths in the concrete floor.

Mr Tudor said it was likely only a third of the 3cm wall plug had gripping into the concrete floor.

He said: "To get maximum strength out of the wall plug, the top of the wall plug should have been flush with the concrete."

The jury was shown a picture of the barrier around the time it was installed

Explaining to the jury the mechanics of the collapse, he said when Kaden swung, applying force to the barrier, it toppled over and pulled the wall plugs out of the floor.

He added that in his opinion wall bolts should have been used to fit the plinths to the floor, and Realm should have carried out tests on the barrier's stability.

The trial continues.

The prosecution described the barrier at the Topshop store in Reading as "wobbly"