Boy crushed to death by fireplace collapse in Persimmon house

A badly-fitted mantlepiece in a new Persimmon house led to the death of a four-year-old boy, an inquest jury in Northamptonshire has ruled.

Matthew Green died from severe chest injuries after a 50kg stone lintel fell on him at his home in Towcester, on 15 October 2005.

The inquest jury at Irthlingborough said that "the mantelpiece became detached from the headstone as a result of a failure to apply a sufficient amount of appropriately-mixed mortar and/or additional fixings".

The four-day inquest heard that Matthew Green's parents had bought the house from Persimmon Homes in 2003. On the day of the tragedy, the father described hearing a "loud crash" from the living room, and after running into the room, discovered his son lying under the stone mantel, which had broken in two and crushed him.

The boy was rushed to Northampton General Hospital by air ambulance, but died later from his injuries. His ribs had been fractured and  his heart ruptured.

The inquest was told that Persimmon Homes had not checked the standards for fireplace installation. A worker for its subcontractor KD Childs said he had received no formal training.

The jury described the lack of national industry standards and regulations as "a contributory factor" in Matthew Green's death, and the assistant deputy coroner said he would write to the appropriate government department.

A spokesman Persimmon Homes also blamed the lack of standards for the accident. He added that if they had appointed a competent subcontractor, and if KD Childs had applied sufficient mortar during the installation, "the accident would probably not have happened".

Since the death of Matthew Green, Persimmon Homes has had to carry our repair work on around 120 other fireplaces.