https://sg.news.yahoo.com/boy-5-died-80kg-mirror-145904806.html
Mon, 3 February 2025 at 10:59 pm SGT·3-min read
Freddie Farrow was described by his mother as ‘cheeky and funny and clever’ - Essex Police handout
A five-year-old boy died after he appeared to touch a large mirror in a department store while looking at his own reflection and it fell on him, an inquest has heard.
Freddie Farrow appeared to use “very little force” and an Essex Police detective formed the view that the mirror “must have been very near or on its balance point”, the hearing in Chelmsford was told.
The mirror, which was 8ft 6in (2.6m) high and almost 2ft (0.6m) wide, toppled on to Freddie at the Fenwick store in Colchester, Essex, on July 27 2021, according to a police report.
It was estimated to weigh between 132lb and 176lb (60kg-80kg), temporary Det Ch Insp Michael Pannell told the inquest.
The officer, who went through a report prepared by Det Insp Fred Tomkins, his colleague, who was unable to attend the inquest, said police were called to the scene by the ambulance service at 11.32am.
Mr Pannell said: “The initial report was that a large mirror had fallen on a child”, adding that the boy was “unconscious”.
Mr Pannell said Mr Tomkins gave the dimensions of the mirror, which was in the store’s lingerie department.
He also estimated its weight, noting that the glass was broken and there was a “considerable amount of blood on the floor”.
Mr Pannell added that there was a metal bracket on the wall and a metal bracket on the mirror, and a wooden part of the bracket was in pieces.
Reading from the report, Mr Pannell said: “It was my view that this part of the bracket between the two metal brackets had effectively come apart, leaving it free-standing and leaning against the wall.”
The officer said the incident was captured on CCTV, with Freddie seen to enter the lingerie section of the store with his mother and her friend.
“Freddie appears to touch the mirror, looking at his own reflection,” said Mr Pannell. “The mirror appears to shimmer before moving forwards.”
Lincoln Brookes, the Essex senior coroner, said the “distressing” CCTV footage would not be played as part of the inquest.
He told the jurors a “large mirror attached to a column fell over on top of him [Freddie], causing very serious head injuries”.
Mr Pannell said the mirror hit Freddie on the “top and back of his head” and the inquest heard that the child suffered a “catastrophic brain injury”.
He added that Freddie “doesn’t really apply any force to the mirror which weighs a significant amount, then [the mirror] leans forward and hits him”.
Natasha Ingham, Freddie’s mother, attended the hearing with other family members. She described her son as “cheeky and funny and clever”.
Reading a pen portrait, she said: “He was always smiling, which was like a ray of sunshine.”
Andrew Farrow, Freddie’s father, was not at the hearing but said in a statement read by the coroner’s officer that it “feels like part of our world is missing”.
The inquest, estimated to last four to five days, continues.
Boy, 5, died after 80kg mirror fell on him in department store
Telegraph reportersMon, 3 February 2025 at 10:59 pm SGT·3-min read
Freddie Farrow was described by his mother as ‘cheeky and funny and clever’ - Essex Police handout
A five-year-old boy died after he appeared to touch a large mirror in a department store while looking at his own reflection and it fell on him, an inquest has heard.
Freddie Farrow appeared to use “very little force” and an Essex Police detective formed the view that the mirror “must have been very near or on its balance point”, the hearing in Chelmsford was told.
The mirror, which was 8ft 6in (2.6m) high and almost 2ft (0.6m) wide, toppled on to Freddie at the Fenwick store in Colchester, Essex, on July 27 2021, according to a police report.
It was estimated to weigh between 132lb and 176lb (60kg-80kg), temporary Det Ch Insp Michael Pannell told the inquest.
The officer, who went through a report prepared by Det Insp Fred Tomkins, his colleague, who was unable to attend the inquest, said police were called to the scene by the ambulance service at 11.32am.
Mr Pannell said: “The initial report was that a large mirror had fallen on a child”, adding that the boy was “unconscious”.
‘Considerable amount of blood’
He said the boy was initially taken to Colchester Hospital and then transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, where he died on August 2 2021.Mr Pannell said Mr Tomkins gave the dimensions of the mirror, which was in the store’s lingerie department.
He also estimated its weight, noting that the glass was broken and there was a “considerable amount of blood on the floor”.
Mr Pannell added that there was a metal bracket on the wall and a metal bracket on the mirror, and a wooden part of the bracket was in pieces.
Reading from the report, Mr Pannell said: “It was my view that this part of the bracket between the two metal brackets had effectively come apart, leaving it free-standing and leaning against the wall.”
The officer said the incident was captured on CCTV, with Freddie seen to enter the lingerie section of the store with his mother and her friend.
“Freddie appears to touch the mirror, looking at his own reflection,” said Mr Pannell. “The mirror appears to shimmer before moving forwards.”
‘Distressing’ CCTV footage
Mr Tomkins’s report said: “Very little force was used by Freddie, and my view is the mirror must have been very near or on its balance point.”Lincoln Brookes, the Essex senior coroner, said the “distressing” CCTV footage would not be played as part of the inquest.
He told the jurors a “large mirror attached to a column fell over on top of him [Freddie], causing very serious head injuries”.
Mr Pannell said the mirror hit Freddie on the “top and back of his head” and the inquest heard that the child suffered a “catastrophic brain injury”.
He added that Freddie “doesn’t really apply any force to the mirror which weighs a significant amount, then [the mirror] leans forward and hits him”.
Natasha Ingham, Freddie’s mother, attended the hearing with other family members. She described her son as “cheeky and funny and clever”.
Reading a pen portrait, she said: “He was always smiling, which was like a ray of sunshine.”
Andrew Farrow, Freddie’s father, was not at the hearing but said in a statement read by the coroner’s officer that it “feels like part of our world is missing”.
The inquest, estimated to last four to five days, continues.
