A HEARTBROKEN mum cried as she was unable to hold her son, 2, after he starved to death next to his dead dad.
Bronson Battersby was found laying beside father Kenneth, 60, who had suffered a fatal heart attack shortly after Boxing Day.
FacebookBronson Battersby was starved to death next to his dead dad shortly after Christmas[/caption]
FacebookMum Sarah last saw her son just before Christmas[/caption]
Tot Bronson was under children’s services care, but the tragedy was only discovered two weeks after the pair had last been seen.
Sarah Piesse, 43, fought back tears as she told The Sun yesterday: “If social services had done their job Bronson would still be alive. But they 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.”
Sarah added: “I’ve had the results of the post mortem.
“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.”
Preliminary tests found Bronson died of dehydration and starvation.
Heartbreakingly mum of three, Sarah, couldn’t hold her son when she went to identify him.
“I couldn’t pick him up because his body was too fragile,” she wept.
“I could only touch him. He had been left there too long.”
Sarah last saw her son before Christmas and he was last seen alive waving at a neighbour on Boxing Day.
On December 27 Kenneth messaged a neighbour to say: “Thanks so much for caring, it means the world to me and Bronson.”
The same day, Bronson’s social worker texted Kenneth to arrange a routine visit.
An urgent review has been launched after social workers visited the property on January 2, heard no answer and called the police.
They were met with the same lack of response two days later and phoned the cops again.
Despite this, another five days went past before any checks were carried out inside the property.
Toddler Bronson and his dad were eventually found on January 9, seven days after social services’ initial visit.
“We have to be able to rely on social workers to keep our children safe,” heartbroken mum Sarah added.
Lincolnshire County Council has said Bronson’s social worker made an unannounced visit to the property on January 4 and when there was no response she contacted police again.
Finally she asked the landlord for a key and made the grim discovery.
Police and medics rushed to the scene but the pair were pronounced dead.
FacebookKenneth, 60, had suffered a fatal heart attack[/caption]
FacebookHeartbroken mum Sarah Piesse was unable to hold her son when identifying him[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
