Well-wishers raise more than £18,000 for French schoolboy, six, ‘thrown off the Tate Modern’s 100ft viewing platform’
- A six-year-old boy is alleged to have been thrown off the platform on Sunday
- Nurse Vicky Diplacto has set up a fund raising page for the family of the boy
- 31-year-old said she could relate to the family and what they’re going through
- Vicky’s brother had been left paralysed five years ago after an accident abroad
Well-wishers have raised more than £18,000 for a French schoolboy who was ‘thrown off the Tate Modern’s viewing platform’.
The child fell 100ft after allegedly being snatched from his mother’s arms in the London art gallery’s 10th floor viewing platform last Sunday, August 4.
Vicky Diplacto was horrified when she learned of the incident, in which the six-year-old boy was left with a fractured spine and bleed on the brain.
The 31-year-old nurse from Surrey said she could relate to the family of the boy, after her own brother was left paralysed five years ago after an accident abroad.
The six-year-old French boy was treated on the platform after being allegedly thrown off it on Sunday
An incident response unit was pictured outside of the Tate Modern following the incident
Vicky said: ‘My brother was paralysed and in a wheelchair after the accident so it really hit home and struck a chord with me.
‘As a family we have been through something that is, in some ways, similar and it helped give some small understanding of what they might be going through.
‘We just wanted to show the family that as a collective in Britain and the UK we are behind them and supporting them.’
Speaking to Surrey Live Vicky said she wanted to donate to the family to show them how much people are thinking of them.
The page (pictured above) has gained support from people all around the world and a memory book of the messages will be provided to the family
The victim was with his mother at the Tate Modern viewing deck on the tallest point of the gallery (right) and landed on the flat roof on left hand side, around five floors down
‘This all came about because on Monday night I was thinking about the story and decided I wanted to do something and donate some money. ‘I had a look online but I couldn’t find anything so I decided to try and set something up myself.
‘I think it has been one of the craziest things I have ever done, I have never done anything like this before and it is great that it seems to be going in the right direction.
‘I am a bit of a novice with social media as well so I have been begging friends for likes and shares, the response has been unbelievable.’
The appeal was set up on Tuesday August 6 and has since raised over £18,000. Once the fundraiser is complete the money will be passed onto the family with the help of the Metropolitan Police and gofundme.
The teenager allegedly grabbed a boy, six, and threw him from the viewing platform at the Tate Modern on Sunday with the child landing around five floors down on a roof out of picture on the left
This is while messages of support left on the page for the family will be turned into a book for them to collect when they feel ready.
Since the incident the teenager accused of harming the child is facing a series of psychiatric tests to decide if he is fit to stand trial next year.
The child is now in a stable, but critical condition, after suffering fractures to his spine legs and arms, and a bleed to the brain.
The youth who is alleged to have pushed the child is from Ealing and is charged with attempted murder.
He will appear at the Old Bailey on November 7 for a plea and trial preparation hearing ahead of a two-week trial expected to start on February 2 2020.
Police were called to the London art gallery at around 2.40pm on Sunday and put it into lockdown. Witnesses described hearing the boy’s mother scream ‘my son, my son’ as she rushed to the lifts to try to reach him below.
The platform, which has a chest-high barrier, is part of the Tate’s £260million Blavatnik extension.
Police are continuing to appeal for further witnesses to come forward.