HUNGRY little Bronson Battersby was just two centimeters too small to reach the fridge full of leftovers to save him, his devastated mum told The Sun.
The two-year-old also couldn’t get to his snacks because they had just been moved from the low cabinet to prevent him from helping himself to the treats.
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Bronson Battersby was two inches too small to reach a fridge full of food, his mum says Credit: Facebook
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Sarah, 43, is haunted by visions of her ‘lovely boy’ looking for food and water but too hungry to reach the tap or fridge Credit: Louis Wood
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The tragic child (2) was found curled up holding the legs of his father, the heart attack victim Kenneth Credits: Facebook
Bronson was found dead, curled up holding the legs of his heart attack victim Kenneth, 14 days after he was last seen alive.
Lincolnshire Police yesterday appealed to the watchdog over his death.
The council also launched a “rapid review” to find out why Bronson was not found a week after his social worker in Skegness, Lincs, raised the alarm.
Mum Sarah Piesse, 43, said yesterday that she is now haunted by visions of her “wonderful boy” desperately searching for food and water in the dark – but too tired to reach for the tap or the fridge door.
Smiling as she recalled her son, who was born weighing just over 4 pounds, she said, “Typical, cheeky, little two-year-old. He was always trying to get his favorite pink wafers.
“And when we said nothing more, he would smile and shout: ‘Yes! More more more!’
“Kenny moved all the snacks higher up so he couldn’t get to them without asking.
“Now all I can think about in my head is him, hungry, reaching out and trying to get them. I can’t stand it.
“He was about two inches from being able to reach the refrigerator to open it.
“His last moments were spent alone and he must have been very thirsty and hungry.
“He must have been crying. It must be that he was so confused.
“And Kenny was there on the floor. I can only pray he thought his dad was asleep.”
Sarah still has her son’s Christmas present at home — a toy steering wheel.
She said: “I know the two of them had a big Christmas dinner together.
“They had all the trimmings and chicken instead of turkey, because Bronson loved chicken.
It haunts me. If I manage to sleep at all…I wake up with a wince at the thought of him wandering around alone, hungry
Sarah Piesse
“All the food would still be in the fridge. If Bronson was just a little taller, then he would have survived.
“The fridge would be full of Christmas leftovers.”
Sarah said she would never forgive herself for not having the chance to be with him.
She added: “It haunts me. If I can sleep at all, it’s only for a few hours. I start from my sleep when I think of him wandering around alone, hungry.
“He must have been so weak in the end that he decided to give up and held on to dad, hugging his legs. I will never forgive myself for not being there.
“When I imagine him alone in that apartment, I feel like a failure, cruel, selfish.
“That little boy was sitting there wanting a drink, wanting something to eat. That breaks my heart even more.
“I just don’t understand why the alarm wasn’t raised earlier. Why didn’t they do that? I’m living in a nightmare and I’ll never wake up from it.”
Social workers visited the rental property where Bronson lived with his “adored” dad on January 2 and two days later, but there was no response.
They asked Sara if she had received any messages from Kenneth, but gave her no indication that she had anything to worry about.
Social services contacted the police both times, but it was another five days before Bronson and Kenneth’s bodies were finally found on January 9.
The little boy was last seen alive on Boxing Day. Preliminary tests showed that Bronson died of dehydration and starvation.
When I imagine him alone in that apartment, I feel like a failure, cruel, selfish
Sarah
Speaking about the moment she heard Kenneth, 60, known as Kenny, had died, Sarah said: “My friend who lives on Kenny’s road told me.
“My first question was, ‘Then where the hell is my boy? Who has my boy?’ I got down as fast as I could. I was there in ten minutes. I ran down the road yelling Bronson’s name.
“I screamed for him, knowing he would need me. I was afraid of what he might see when his father died. But the police put me in the back of an ambulance at the scene.
“They told me that a two-year-old boy was found at the scene and that they were doing an autopsy. My whole world came crashing down. I screamed: ‘How? How?’
“I knew there was no way Kenny would let anything happen to Bronson. He would never lay a finger on it.”
Sarah and Kenny – who also have a daughter, 3, and a son, 7 – split in 2019, but had an on-and-off relationship.
The couple decided together that Bronson would live with Kenny when Sarah moved into a new apartment six months ago.
Her home was not safe for the child because of the tall staircase with no railing.
She last saw Bronson in November and was due to see him this month to give him his Christmas present – which still remains wrapped at home.
Sarah cried as she remembered the last time she saw her son. She made him spaghetti bolognese and he played with his older brother and sister.
The fight with Kenny meant weeks had passed without her seeing the boy.
Kenny and I had a fight in November…so I backed off a bit and gave him some space. Now I will never stop regretting it
Sarah
But Mom trusted Kenny with Bronson and knew that social services would also be there to help.
She added: “Kenny and Bronson have always been connected, so it made sense when I got a new apartment that Bronson would stay with him.
“Social services were involved, so I knew they were around and checking in.
“Kenny and I had a fight in November and if he said no, he meant no. So I backed off a bit and gave him space.
“Now I will never stop regretting it. I can’t sleep because every time I close my eyes I see his face.”
Kenny’s exhausted pet boxer dog Skylar survived in the house at the end of the terrace, where the bodies were found on Tuesday last week.
Shaking with emotion, Sarah recalled the moment she was finally allowed to see Bronson’s frail body in the hospital morgue on Monday.
She said: “I was with him, but they were not allowed to hold him.
“I caressed him, kissed him, told him I loved him.
“It was too fragile for me to hold because it had been so long. All I wanted to do was hold him.
“My boy – I just want to see his smile all the time.”
Lincolnshire County Council said the social worker involved in Bronson’s case has not been suspended, but it is understood they have taken voluntary days off.
Asked what she would like to see happen to ensure a tragedy like her son’s death never happens again, Sarah said: “No other mother should have to go through what I went through.
“I want to know why they didn’t get access on the first visit? That would save him.”
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Sarah said: ‘He must have been so weak in the end that he decided to give up and hold his dad, hugging his legs’ Credit: Louis Wood
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Sarah smiled as she recalled her ‘cheeky little’ Bronson, who was born weighing just over 4lb Credit: Louis Wood
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