Bronson Battersby 'was just too small to reach food' that could have saved him after dad's heart attack, mum says
17 January 2024, 23:10
Bronson Battersby, the two-year-old boy who starved to death after he was left alone for days following his father's fatal heart attack, was "just too small" to reach food that would have saved him, his mother has revealed.
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Bronson's body was found alongside his father Kenneth at their home in Skegness on January 9, after social services tried and failed several times to get in.
His mother Sarah Piesse, who had left the home before Christmas, after arguing with Kenneth, said their son was too small to reach the fridge. She added that snacks had earlier been moved from a low cupboard so he would stop helping himself.
Ms Piesse said her son was a "typical, cheeky, little two-year-old."
She added: "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," she told the Sun. "Now all I can think of in my head is him, starving, reaching up and trying to get them. I can’t bear it.
Ms Piesse added: "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."
Mr Battersby, 60, is thought to have died of a heart attack no earlier than December 29. Bronson tragically died days later due to starvation and dehydration, but was not found for another week.
Bronson was found in the dark alongside his deceased father, Kenneth, and their pet dog, Skylar, who survived.
Bronson, was considered to be vulnerable by social services, and so was being checked on weekly. But despite repeated attempts to visit after Mr Battersby had already died, Bronson was not discovered until days later.
Ms Piesse claimed earlier 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."
It comes after the landlady of Mr Bronson’s home, Maria Clifton Plaice, said one of her tenants reported hearing the two-year-old cry out for his father.
Ms Plaice told the MailOnline: “One of the tenants living above Kenny reported to us at the weekend that she heard Bronson crying out for his father early on New Year's Day.
“She said she heard a little boy repeatedly say 'daddy' as if he was trying to wake him up. This was around 4am.”
Ms Plaice continued: “The tenant has now also spoken to the police. She contacted us on Sunday and we passed the information on.
“She said she heard a little boy repeatedly say 'daddy as if he was trying to wake him up. This was around 4am.”urning the loss of a friend and his beautiful little boy.”
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.
