A locker unit that fell and caused the death of a nine-year-old boy in Essex had been reinstalled after the floor was refurbished, an inquest has heard.
Nine-year-old Leo Latifi had been with family members at an after-school swimming club at Great Baddow High School in Chelmsford when he became trapped underneath the locker in May last year.
He was found ‘lying on the floor with lockers on top of him’. He was taken to Broomfield Hospital, where he later died.
A post-mortem examination found Leo, who was not a pupil at the school, had died from a head injury sustained after the locker unit fell on him.
Matthew Flynn, representing Leo’s family said they would like to know more about the refurbishment which had taken place at the school prior to the accident.
He also told Essex Crown Court that evidence should also be heard on how and why the locker unit came to fall and on policies of supervision of children while not actively engaged in swimming classes.
A full inquest into Leo’s death will begin later in June.
Leo was a Year 4 pupil at St Michael’s Primary School in Chelmsford. His headteacher Maria Rumsey said: ‘Leo was a sparkle in our school. His face lit up the classroom and his mischievous blue eyes made us all smile.”
“He had a wide circle of friends in the year group, all of whom will miss him greatly.”
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