Mirror that killed boy was 'unsecured' - inquest
Family handoutA mirror which toppled onto a five-year-old boy in a department store was "unsecured", an inquest into his death heard.
Freddie Farrow appeared to use very little force when he touched the mirror and it fell on him at Fenwick in Colchester, a detective told jurors.
The Gosbecks Primary School, Colchester, pupil died in hospital six days after sustaining a traumatic brain injury on 27 July 2021.
A jury at Essex Coroner's Court has been hearing evidence about how the mirror came to fall.
It was told how Freddie was in the lingerie section of the High Street shop with his mother and her friend when the incident happened.
On Tuesday, investigator David King, of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said: "Freddie was fatally injured when an unsecured mirror, 2.6 metres high (8ft 6in) and weighing approximately 80kg (176lb), toppled and fell on him."
He told the hearing in Chelmsford the mirror was "designed to be at three degrees, so virtually upright".
Martin Giles/BBCMr King said the mirrors were manufactured in Germany and installed in 2016 as part of a wider refurbishment.
He said it was his understanding that the weight of the mirrors would be upon the ground and not the wall.
Mr King said other mirrors at the store were inspected by staff from Colchester City Council after the incident.
He said two of 14 mirrors were found to be suspended, instead of resting on the floor, and nine had some form of distortion to their top fixing boxes.
Keith Morton, the barrister representing Fenwick, suggested to Mr King the mirror had been "wrongly installed".
Mr King replied: "That appears to be the case, yes," adding the "installation wasn't safe".
In a series of questions, Mr Morton suggested the only thing fixing the mirror to the wall had been a top wall bracket that "wasn't designed to be load bearing".
He also said it "depended for its limited strength on wood glue" on a medium-density fibreboard (MDF) fixing box, and Mr King said "that appears to be the case".
The inquest continues.
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