Freddie Farrow: Five-year-old boy dies after mirror falls on him in Fenwick department store in Essex

A boy suffered terrible and fatal head injuries when a mirror fell on him at a high-end department store in a ‘preventable’ incident, an inquest heard yesterday.

Freddie Farrow, five, was in the lingerie department of Fenwick with his mother when he touched the 8ft 6in tall mirror weighing 11st (69.85kg) before it toppled from the wall. Distressing CCTV, which was not shown to jurors, showed staff running over to help and paramedics giving CPR as he lay stricken on the floor of the store in Colchester, Essex.

The superhero-mad youngster was airlifted to hospital where doctors fought to save him for nearly a week before concluding that he had suffered “devastating and non-survivable neurological injury”.

Freddie was taken off life support last August and died in the arms of his mother Natasha Ingham.

At the opening of the inquest, Detective Chief Inspector Michael Pannell read from a police report which revealed wooden supports between the mirror and the wall-mounting brackets had given way. Describing what officers saw as they arrived, he said: “Glass was broken and there was a considerable amount of blood on the floor. A wall bracket was still attached to the rear of the mirror.

“There was a metal bracket on the wall and four pieces of wood were stuck together between the bracket on the wall and the mirror. It was my view that this part had broken, leaving the mirror effectively free-standing.”

CCTV showed Freddie, who lived in Colchester with his parents and older brother and sister, going into the department with his mother and her friend. DCI Pannell continued: “Freddie approaches the mirror. He appears to touch the mirror, looking at his own reflection.

“The mirror appears to shimmer before falling forward. It hits the back of his head. Very little force is used by Freddie and it is my opinion that the mirror must have been at its balance point.

“This is a very sad incident where a young boy has lost his life in preventable circumstances.”

A nurse told of his last moments in a report, saying: “Freddie was placed in mum’s arms on the sofa for cuddles. Sister Sophie and dad were in attendance. When the tube was removed, Freddie died peacefully in mum’s arms.”

Ms Ingham read out a statement describing him as a “loving and caring boy with a lot of love to give” who enjoyed exercise, football and heroes including Spiderman and the Hulk.

“There’s not a day goes by when I won’t be thinking of him,” she said.

Freddie’s father Andrew was not at the hearing but his statement was read out by an official.

“Initially, I had to block out all thoughts of Fred,” he wrote.

“Coping with the loss of Fred is a horrible, exhausting, daily event.”

Alison Chapman, health and safety officer at Colchester City Council, said the fixing box on the back of the mirror had failed.

She said, judging from other mirrors in the store, there was a problem with the design.

The inquest at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court continues.