Two men facing manslaughter and abstracting electricity charges after seven-year-old Harvey Tyrrell was electrocuted in a pub garden in September 2018.
What makes playtime fatal?
Image credit: MET police
Harvey was electrocuted while climbing over the wall of the King Harold pub in Romford to get his football. According to the report by MyLondon, he was shocked after standing on a garden lamp. At first it was thought that Harvey had suffered a head injury from a fall, but the post-mortem revealed that he had died from a fatal electric shock.
Paramedics found young Harvey unconscious in the pub’s back garden and rushed him to hospital, but they couldn’t save his life and he was pronounced dead soon after.
Manslaughter and abstraction
Image credit: Google
David Bearman, 72, has admitted to gross negligence manslaughter and abstracting electricity worth £22,995.
A second pensioner is also due to stand trial in the coming months.
Tributes to the schoolboy in the days after the tragedy have poured in, saying: “Harvey was a beautiful, happy & healthy seven-year-old boy who loved his football just like any other boy his age.”
Senseless tragedy
Innocent lives are risked every day when people cut corners by messing with their electricity supply. In this case, a young and vulnerable life was needlessly lost as a result.
You can prevent tragedies like this from happening again by reporting any suspicions of electricity theft to Stay Energy Safe. You will remain 100% anonymous when you tell us what you know, and the information you pass on could save lives.