Toddler starved to death after days alone with father’s body
Social services missed chances to find boy, 2, after parent died of heart attack, says family
A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy starved to death after his father suffered a heart attack and social services failed to find them for days, his family have said.
Bronson Battersby was found curled up in his pyjamas alongside his 60-yearold father, Kenneth, 14 days after they were last seen. Social services visited their home in Skegness, Lincolnshire, on Jan 2, a week before the pair were discovered dead, but received no reply and contacted the police as they were legally unable to force entry.
The same social worker visited the property again two days later for an unannounced check. Again there was no response and the social worker contacted the police once more.
On Jan 9, social services were given access to the property by the landlord and the bodies were discovered inside.
A preliminary post-mortem examination found Bronson died of dehydration and starvation, The Sun reports.
Bronson’s mother, Sarah Piesse, 43, told the paper that “if social services had done their job, Bronson would still be alive”. She added: “I’ve had the results of the post mortem. Bronson starved to death because his dad died. They think Kenneth died no earlier than Dec 29.
“It means if the social worker had pushed to get in when she got no reply on Jan 2, then Bronson would still have been alive.”
The toddler was reportedly last seen alive by his neighbour after they visited the house on Boxing Day.
His father was unemployed and had a pre-existing heart condition which had caused him to become severely jaundiced in the months before his death.
Bronson was classified as vulnerable by social services, meaning he received monthly visits from social workers.
Lincolnshire county council is carrying out a “rapid review” of the case. The social worker has not been suspended but has taken time off voluntarily.
Lincolnshire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Mr Battersby’s daughter, Melanie, said there were “so many missed opportunities” to save Bronson’s life.
She said: “There were so many missed opportunities that could have potentially saved Bronson’s life, and a review will bring all of this to light.
“As a family with young children ourselves, we’re absolutely devastated by what’s happened, nothing could ever prepare you for this type of tragedy.”
Heather Sandy, executive director for children’s services, said: “We are 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.”
A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said the deaths were not being treated as suspicious. 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.”