Boy thrown off Tate is making progress, say his family

A BOY thrown from the 10th floor of London’s Tate Modern art gallery is practising a gentle form of judo and adapted archery as his condition improves, according to his family.

The French boy was six when he was badly hurt in an attack by Jonty Bravery at the tourist attraction in August 2019.

Bravery, who is autistic and was 17 at the time, was in supported accommodation when he made the attack but was allowed out unsupervised.

He intended to select and kill someone, a court was later told.

The victim, who was on holiday with his parents, survived a 100ft fall but suffered life-changing injuries, including a bleed on the brain and broken bones.

Bravery was convicted of attempted murder in 2020 and jailed for 15 years.

Posting on a Gofundme page, which has raised nearly €400,000 (£354,000) for the youngster’s recovery, his family said that he was increasingly taking part in physical activity as part of his treatment.

They said: “From time to time, we take him for adapted archery. Our son has always loved sports, he is delighted to do all this.

“We have also found a new speech therapist and, thanks to her, our little knight has made considerable progress in swallowing and breathing.

“He’s able to blow out candles again, he hardly makes any more wrong turns when he drinks liquids, and he’s starting to keep the rhythm of the songs better.

“Thanks to all his mobility progress (balance, left arm, muscle strengthening, etc), he is increasingly able to play alone at home and in the hospital.

“This is a huge step towards his autonomy, even if he is still very dependent for very simple daily tasks (tuck his T-shirt into his pants, cut his meat, wash his hair, etc.)”