Bronson Battersby’s mother reveals heartbreaking details as death of toddler investigated

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Bronson Battersby’s mother has revealed heartbreaking details of the tragic death of the toddler, who reportedly starved after being left alone for days along with his father’s physique.

The two-year-old was discovered lifeless subsequent to Kenneth Battersby’s physique two weeks after the pair had been final seen alive at their dwelling in Skegness, Lincolnshire by a neighbour on Boxing Day.

Kenneth, 60, is believed to have died of a coronary heart assault shortly afterwards, leaving Bronson at the hours of darkness with no meals or water.

Fighting again tears, Bronson’s heartbroken mother Sarah Piesse, 43, stated her son was simply two inches too small to achieve a fridge full of Christmas leftovers that might have saved him. He additionally couldn’t attain the faucet as a result of of his peak, nor his snacks as that they had lately been moved to a better cabinet to stop him from serving to himself to them.

Piesse instructed The Sun she is saved awake by the “haunting” imaginative and prescient of her “gorgeous boy”, who was born weighing simply over 4lb, desperately scrambling round at the hours of darkness, trying to find meals and water.

Telling of how she nonetheless has her son’s Christmas current – a toy steering wheel – at dwelling, she stated: “I know the two of them had a big Christmas dinner together. They had all the trimmings and chicken instead of turkey, because Bronson liked chicken. All the food would have still been in the fridge. If only Bronson was a little bit taller, then he would have survived. The fridge would have been packed with Christmas leftovers.”

Smiling as she remembered her boy, she continued: “A typical, cheeky, little two-year-old. He was always trying to get his favourite pink wafers. And then when we said no more, he’d smile and shout, ‘Yeah! More, more, more!’ Kenny moved all the snacks higher up so he couldn’t get to them without asking.

“Now all I can think of in my head is him, starving, reaching up and trying to get them. I can’t bear it. He was about two inches off being able to reach the fridge to open it.

“His last moments were spent alone and he must have been so thirsty and hungry. He will have been crying. He will have been so confused. And Kenny was there on the floor. I can only pray he thought his dad was asleep.”

A tormented Piesse stated she is saved awake at night time, unable to forgive herself for not being there to avoid wasting her two-year-old.

She stated: “It is haunting me. If I can fall asleep at all, it is only for a few hours. I jolt awake thinking of him wandering around alone, starving. He must have been so weak in the end that he decided to give up and hold on to his dad, hugging his legs.

“I will never forgive myself for not being there. When I picture him alone in that flat it makes me feel like a failure, cruel, selfish. That little boy was sitting there wanting a drink, wanting something to eat. It breaks my heart even more.”

Piesse questioned why the authorities didn’t do extra for her boy.

She stated: “I just don’t understand why the alarm wasn’t raised sooner. Why didn’t they do it? I am in a living nightmare and I am never going to wake up from it.”

Lincolnshire County Council instructed The Independent that social providers spoke with Battersby on 27 December to organise a go to to the house on 2 January. After receiving no response that day, the council stated the social employee contacted police and made an unannounced go to two days later, after which they once more contacted police.

However, it was one other 5 days earlier than the daddy and son’s our bodies had been discovered on 9 January, after the council stated the social employee was compelled to achieve entry from the owner to enter the property themselves.

A “rapid review” of the case has been launched by the council after preliminary exams reportedly discovered that Bronson, who was below kids’s providers care, had died of dehydration and hunger. Lincolnshire Police stated the precise actions of all organisations concerned will probably be analysed in a forthcoming assessment.

The power stated it has additionally referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). A spokesperson for the watchdog confirmed that it’s now assessing the referral to find out additional motion.

Piesse stated she came upon Kenneth Battersby had died from a buddy who lives on his street and instantly requested, “Where the hell is my boy then? Who has my boy?”

She instructed The Sun: “I got down there as fast as I could. I was there in 10 minutes flat. I ran down the road screaming Bronson’s name. I screamed for him, knowing he’d need me. I was scared about what he might have seen with his dad passing away.

“But the police put me in the back of an ambulance at the scene. They told me a two-year-old boy was found at the scene and they were doing a post-mortem.

“My whole world fell apart. I was screaming, ‘How? How?’ I knew there was no way that Kenny would let anything happen to Bronson. He would never lay a finger on him.”

Piesse stated she and Battersby – who additionally share a three-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son – had an on-off relationship after splitting in 2019. When Piesse moved into a brand new flat six months in the past, she stated the pair determined that Bronson would stay with Battersby as they deemed the excessive staircase with out a banister in her dwelling unsafe.

Speaking by means of tears, Piesse stated a row with Battersby had meant she had final seen Bronson in November when she had made him spaghetti bolognese and he had performed along with his siblings. She stated she was purported to see her son this month to present him his Christmas current.

She instructed The Sun: “Kenny and Bronson always had a bond, so it made sense when I got the new flat for Bronson to stay with him.

“Social services were involved, so I knew they were around and they were checking in.

“Kenny and I had argued in November and if he said no, he meant no. So I backed off a bit and gave him space. I will never stop regretting that now. I can’t sleep because every time I close my eyes I see his face.”

She added: “No other mother should have to go through what I have been through.

“I want to know why did they not gain access on the first visit? That would have saved him.”

The social employee concerned has not been suspended however has taken time without work following the incident.

Heather Sandy, govt director for youngsters’s providers at Lincolnshire County Council, instructed The Independent: “This was a tragic incident, and we are supporting the family at this difficult time.

“We are currently carrying out a review of the case alongside partner agencies to better understand the circumstances, and we await the results of the coroner’s investigations as well.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved.”

Lincolnshire Police stated: “Police were made aware of the deaths of a 60-year-old man and a two-year-old child at a property in Prince Alfred Avenue, Skegness, at around 3.25pm on Tuesday 9 January.

“Investigations have been carried out and the deaths are not being treated as suspicious.

“The matter has been passed to the coroner’s office.”

They added: “The exact actions of organisations involved will be analysed in a forthcoming review and, at this stage, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

“As part of standard procedures we have referred this to the IOPC as a result of a death or serious injury following police involvement.”

A spokesperson for the Independent Office for Police Conduct stated: “We can confirm that we have received a referral in relation to this matter from Lincolnshire Police and we are now assessing that to determine what further action is required from us.”