Freddie Farrow, a five-year-old boy died after suffering a “catastrophic brain injury” when a large mirror fell on him in a Fenwick department store, an inquest has heard.
Police said Freddie Farrow appeared to touch the mirror while looking at his own reflection and seemed to use “very little force” before it fell.
Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Michael Pannell stated on the first day of the inquest that the mirror, which measured 8 feet 6 inches in height and 2 feet in width, was estimated to weigh between 132 and 176 pounds.
‘Freddie appears to touch the mirror, looking at his own reflection’, Pannell said. ‘The mirror appears to shimmer before moving forwards.’
It hit the top and back of Freddie’s head as it fell. He suffered a ‘catastrophic brain injury’, the inquest heard.
When police arrived after the alarm was raised around 11.32 am, they found broken glass and a ‘considerable amount of blood on the floor’.
A report written by Detective Inspector Fred Tomkins, who was unable to attend the inquest, said: ‘Very little force was used by Freddie, and my view is the mirror must have been very near or on its balance point.’
Metal brackets were on the mirror and a column wall, with a wooden part of the bracket broken into pieces.
Tomkins’ report said: ‘It was my view that this part of the bracket between the two metal brackets had effectively come apart, leaving it freestanding and leaning against the wall.’
Freddie’s mother, Natasha Ingham, who attended the hearing with other family members, described her son as ‘cheeky and funny and clever’.
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She said: ‘He was always smiling which was like a ray of sunshine.’
His father, Andrew Farrow, who was not at the hearing, 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.
