Death of boy hit by mirror an accident - inquest

The death of a five-year-old boy who was struck by a falling mirror in a department store was an accident, an inquest jury concluded.

Freddie Farrow died from a "catastrophic brain injury" sustained on 27 July 2021 when a mirror fell on him in Fenwick in Colchester, Essex.

After a five-day inquest at Essex Coroner's Court, the foreperson of the jury said: "The mirror was designed to be attached to a column and stand on the ground, and the ends had not been correctly installed."

Freddie's mother, Natasha Ingham, said: "We are trying to live our lives as we know Freddie would have wanted us to, with love, kindness and with joy. He will never leave us."

She added: "As a family, we think about Freddie every day, and we remember him as he was, as a loving, caring and fun little boy who had his entire life in front of him.

"His loss has left a hole that can never, and will never, be filled."

Freddie was a pupil at Gosbecks Primary School in Colchester and had been due to start Year 2 in September.

Ms Ingham thanked Lee Compton, a Colchester police community support officer, who had tried to save Freddie.

"I know he did everything he possibly could… his actions may have given us the six days we had by Freddie's bedside to say goodbye."

At the end of the hearing in Chelmsford, senior coroner Lincoln Brookes asked the court to stand in silence in remembrance of the five-year-old.

He told Freddie's family the inquest was "never going to answer all of the questions" they might have, and offered them his "deepest condolences".

The mirror was in the High Street shop's lingerie department and was 2.6 metres (8ft 5in) high and nearly 20cm (2ft) wide.

Freddie was in the shop with his mother and her friend and had touched the mirror "with very little force" before it toppled, the hearing was told.

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

The mirror, which was installed in 2016, was estimated to weigh about 80kg (176lb), temporary Det Ch Insp Michael Pannell had told the inquest.

It was unsecured and designed to be "virtually upright", David King, a health and safety executive investigator, told the jury.

Mr King said other mirrors at the shop were inspected after Freddie's death, and nine out of 14 were found to have "some form of distortion to their top fixing boxes".

During the inquest, Mr King agreed with a barrister representing Fenwick that the mirror had been "wrongly installed", adding it "wasn't safe".

The court also heard from Ian Francis, an operations manager at the shop.

He said the mirror was "very large and seemingly well engineered" and that he had not been made aware of any issues prior to the incident.

"Had I been made aware of any worries with the mirrors, I would have investigated and alerted my line manager of any issues," Mr Francis added.

Chief Supt Stuart Weaver, from Essex Police, said: "July 27, 2021, remains one of the most devastating days many officers in Colchester have had in policing.

"Freddie's death is a tragedy, and it is one which we will never forget."

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