Boy, five, died in accident when unsecured 80kg mirror fell on him in department store, inquest rules

A little boy who died after he was crushed under a heavy mirror that fell on him at an upmarket department store was the victim of an accident, an inquest jury ruled today.

Freddie Farrow, five, suffered catastrophic brain injuries when he touched the 8ft 6in mirror, which weighed around 11 stone, at Fenwick in Colchester, Essex.

Witnesses said he had wandered up to it to look at his reflection and was standing just a few feet from his mother at the time.

Freddie was rushed to hospital where he died days later in his mother Amanda’s arms and surrounded by family after his life-support was switched off.

A Health and Safety Executive inspection found the bespoke mirrors, which were designed for Fenwick and installed by contactors, should have been resting on the floor.

But many were suspended fractions of an inch off the floor – hidden by the pile of the carpet in some cases – which meant support boxes on the back of them were bearing more weight than they were designed for.

Freddie’s family were in tears as they heard the decision, with the foreman saying: ‘The incident mirror had not been securely attached and had been suspended off the ground with brackets that weren’t supposed to be load-bearing.’

Turning to the boy’s mother, Natasha Ingham, an aunt and sister, she added: ‘I just want to pass on, on behalf of the jury, our sincere condolences.’

Freddie Farrow, five, died after he was crushed by a large mirror at Fenwick department store in Colchester in 2021

He entered the Fenwick Department store in Colchester with his mother Natasha Ingham (pictured) and her friend Rebecca Parker when the 11-stone mirror toppled on him

An inquest has found the mirror was not placed on the floor, as it should have been, and was instead suspended inches from the ground (the store in Colchester, pictured)

Coroner Lincoln Brookes, who asked everyone to stand for a few moments in memory of Freddie before he discharged the jury, added: ‘I said at the outset I could not begin to imagine how difficult this week would be. It must have been a huge burden in different ways. It must have reopened wounds you thought you had got over…

‘I hope we have answered some of the questions you had at the outset. It’s never going to answer all the questions but I hope it has allowed some further understanding of some of the issues.’

Marvel superheroes fan Freddie, who had an older brother and sister, was at the store with his mother and one of her friends on July 27, 2021, when they entered the lingerie section and he approached the mirror.

After it crashed down on him, staff and security provided CPR before paramedics took over. He was airlifted to a local hospital and transferred later that day to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Doctors fought to save him but the brain damage he had suffered left him unable to breathe unaided and ventilation was removed on August 6.

On the first day of the five-day hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Michael Pannell said: ‘Very little force was 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.’

Health and Safety Executive expert David King told the hearing the tragedy wouldn’t have been possible if the mirror had been properly secured, saying: ‘A five-year-old should not be able to pull a mirror down, such as by climbing on it. But he didn’t.’

The HSE science division examined the ‘incident mirror’, which was meant to sit on the ground and lean against a column at a slight angle that left it ‘virtually upright’, and concluded it had not been attached correctly.

Brackets on the wall did not line up with two MDF fixing boxes on the rear of the mirror – one at the top and a slightly larger one at the bottom to create a three-degree angle.

PVA wood glue had also been used in the construction of the boxes, which would have been sufficient to hold them together but not to bear a load, the jury was told.

A picture of Freddie issued by Essex Police following the conclusion of the inquest into his death following the accident at Fenwick

Freddie Farrow’s mother Natasha Ingram pictured leaving the inquest after it ruled he had died in an accident

Police on the scene inside Fenwick on July 27 2021 after the mirror collapsed on Freddie as he looked at his own reflection

An Essex Police forensic investigation van and a rapid response ambulance at the other entrance to the store

Paramedics fought to save Freddie before he was airlifted to hospital – but he was taken off of a ventilator a week later (pictured: paramedics on scene)

The mirror that killed schoolboy Freddie was found to have placed too heavy a load on the upper bracket as the lower bracket wasn’t engaged, Mr King said.

‘The purpose [of the boxes] wasn’t to hang the mirror, it’s to restrain it into the pillar,’ he added.

The mirrors, which were unique to Fenwick, were designed by Dula-Werke Dustmann and installed in August or September 2016 by CKM Kondring Montagen, both German companies.

Checks after Freddie, of Colchester, was killed revealed two of the 14 mirrors in the store were effectively suspended, rather than resting on the floor and another two were ‘partially resting’ on the floor. Nine had some form of distortion to the top fixing boxes.

Keith Morton KC, the barrister representing Fenwick, told the hearing there were errors on the installation diagrams provided to installers which, if followed, would have left the mirrors hanging 3.5ins above the floor, despite the positioning being ‘safety critical’.

The positioning of the brackets on the mirror that fell on Freddie meant it would have been about two-thirds of an inch from the floor, although this may have been concealed by the pile of the carpet, it was claimed.

‘All of the mass of the mirror was being subjected to the upper wall bracket. The singular bracket engagement was dependent on the limited strength of the wood glue,’ Mr Morton said.

He added: ‘The design was deficient. The installation instructions might have been deficient. These mirrors should not have been permitted to be handed over to Fenwick.’

In a statement read to the inquest, Freddie’s father, Andrew Farrow, who works as a driver, described how initially he had to ‘block out all thoughts’ of his son after his death.

‘Coping with the loss of Fred is a horrible, exhausting, daily event,’ he said.

His mother told the hearing: ‘There’s not a day goes by when I won’t be thinking of him.’

Essex Police said the day of the accident was ‘one of the most devastating days many officers in Colchester have had in policing’ (Freddie pictured in a family photograph)

Freddie died after suffering a severe head injury and skull fractures (pictured: the youngster’s in Colchester in 2021)

Following the conclusion of the inquest, Essex Police Chief Superintendent Stuart Weaver said July 27, 2021 remained ‘one of the most devastating days many officers in Colchester have had in policing’.

He continued: ‘Essex Police is a force which values family and everything that goes with that. Freddie’s death is a tragedy, and it is one which we will never forget.

‘In the days, weeks and months after Freddie’s death, the Colchester community showed its love and unity. That is a community which we’re proud to be part of.’

And in a subsequent statement, Natasha Ingram said: ‘Losing a child is something no parent can ever get over.

‘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.

‘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.’

Ms Ingram added: ‘Freddie was a much-loved boy who is always in our hearts. The accident was a terrible tragedy and he can never be replaced.

‘At the conclusion of the inquest the family’s sincere hope is that this tragedy is never repeated.’

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