Bronson Battersby’s heartbreaking final days before tragic death and how ‘chances were missed to save him’
17 January 2024, 11:57 | Updated: 17 January 2024, 13:54
A two-year-old boy was found dead curled up in the dark lying next to his dead father, who had suffered a heart attack, just weeks after Christmas.
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Bronson Battersby's body was found at his father's home in Skegness on January 9, following multiple failed attempts by social services to get in touch with them.
Bronson, 2, was considered to be vulnerable by social services, and so was being checked on weekly, The Sun reports.
He was found in the dark alongside his deceased father, Kenneth, and their pet dog, Skylar, who survived.
Mr Battersby, 60, is thought to have died of a heart attack no earlier than December 29.
The two-year-old tragically died days later due to starvation and dehydration, but was not found for another week.
His death has raised questions about attempts that were made to contact Mr Battersby and his son, with the toddler's mother claiming 'chances were missed' to save him.
A timeline of Bronson's final days
- Bronson's mum, Sarah Piesse, last saw her son alive before Christmas, after having an argument with his father, Kenneth - around Christmas
- A neighbour visits Kenneth and Bronson at their Skegness home - December 26
- Kenneth messages his neighbour to say thanks for checking in on them. He also organised a social worker visit on January 2 - December 27
- The earliest possible date Bronson's father could have died, according to his post-mortem - December 29
- A social worker visits the house but gets no answer, despite knocking on the door. The police are contacted - January 2
- Kenneth's landlord gives a social worker access to the property, where she finds Kenneth and Bronson's bodies - January 9
- Post-mortem shows Kenneth died of a heart attack. Bronson died from dehydration and starvation - January 16.
Bronson's mum, Sarah, claimed there were chances to save her sone, saying "social services didn't do anything".
"I can't believe it. They can't let them get away with this. We have to be able to rely on social workers to keep our children safe."I've had the results of the post mortem," she told The Sun.
"Bronson starved to death because his dad died. They think Kenneth died no earlier than December 29.
"It means if the social worker had pushed to get in when she got no reply on January 2 then Bronson would still have been alive."
Lincolnshire County Council said it was launching an urgent review, and said the thoughts of staff are "with the family and friends of those involved".
The social worker in question is thought not to have been suspended, but to have taken voluntary time off.
A spokeswoman for Lincolnshire Police said: "Police were made aware of the deaths of a 60-year-old man and a two-year-old child at a property in Skegness, at around 3.25pm on January 9.
"Investigations have been carried out and the deaths are not being treated as suspicious."
