Leo Latifi: Falling locker which killed boy 'not securely fixed'

Leo Latifi died from a severe head injury after hitting his head on a bench as the unit fell

A locker unit which fell over and killed a nine-year-old boy who was climbing on it was not "securely fixed" to the wall, an inquest has heard.

Leo Latifi died from a severe head injury after hitting his head on a bench as the locker fell in May 2019.

He had been attending an after-school swimming club at Great Baddow High School in Chelmsford, Essex.

It would have been "highly unlikely" for the unit to topple over had it been secured to the wall, the inquest heard.

A jury at Chelmsford Coroner's Court concluded Leo's death was an accident that was "significantly contributed to by a lack of assessment of a clear and obvious risk due to a locker unit not being re-secured to a solid wall".

Michael Goodwin, a mechanical engineering expert, said the locker unit had not been "correctly configured".

Essex's senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said the expert believed there was an "obvious risk that the unit would fall over".

St Michael's Primary School created a memorial garden for Leo

Summarising Mr Goodwin's evidence, she said: "In my opinion the locker unit wasn't correctly configured in so much as it wasn't secured to the wall using fixing lugs provided by the manufacture.r

"Had the locker been securely fixed to the wall, it's highly unlikely it would have tipped forward when the boys climbed up the front."

The inquest heard the lockers had been moved when new flooring was laid in 2013-14 and it was "highly likely" they were fixed by screws to the wall before this.

Paul Draper, business manager at Great Baddow High School, said the lockers "had been assessed as stable, secure and fit for purpose".

He told the inquest they had been checked during an audit in 2017, but he did not look for fixings to the wall.

"I tried to move it. I'm 17 stone. I couldn't move it," he said.

Mr Goodwin said Mr Draper's method of checking was "insufficient".

Leo's parents said he loved making things with Lego

Leo's parents Eddie and Natalie Latifi said the death of their son had caused them "the worst pain imaginable".

"We are now clear this tragedy should never have happened," they said in a statement released by their lawyers.

"We put our trust in the school who provided the premises for the swimming lessons, and we expected those premises to be safe.

"The significant risk posed by a large locker unit being unsecured to the wall should have been clear to those in positions of responsibility at the school."

Mrs and Mrs Latifi said they hoped their son's death meant "similar incidents will not be allowed to happen so that no other family will have to experience our suffering".