Absolutely heartbreaking
Kaden Reddick was tragically crushed to death by a barrier in a Topshop whilst shopping with his mum, siblings and grandmother.
An inquest into the ten-year-old's death took place yesterday, finding that the child was killed by a falling queue barrier on February 13 in Reading.
Topshop have now recalled around 400 of the units across the globe, including some in North America.
Detective Inspector Dave Turton of Thames Valley Police told the inquest: "At some point while Kaden's mum was at the cashpoint going through a transaction, a display described as a queue barrier has fallen over and struck him in the head and this resulted in injuries that were fatal.
"The shop owners have a number of these displays in their stores. The Arcadia group which own Topshop and similar chains acted quickly and identified 400 stores with these queue barriers in a short time. These stores both here and abroad were closed and these queue barriers were removed."
DI Turton confirmed that the police are leading the investigation, but that the local environmental health department were also looking into the case. He said: "It's still very, very early days so I would envisage we would be looking at where we are in three months."
Kaden's parents, Lisa Cooper Mallett and Ian Reddick, did not attend the inquest as they were having a "much needed break", said Senior Coroner for Berkshire Peter Bedford.
Kaden's family released the following statement after he died: "Kaden was a loving, cheeky, energetic boy whose death will leave a huge empty hole in the lives of everybody that knew him. Our house feels empty without him.
"Kaden loved family holidays, with swimming being his favourite pastime. He was always the first one in any pool or the sea. It didn't matter how cold it was, he would jump in, trying to get everyone to join him."
"Kaden was a very creative boy, who loved school. He was going to be helping with making the props for the next school play, and he had set up his bedroom as a classroom to play with his siblings, labelling his room Strawberry class. He was also adventurous; loving to play outside on his bike, or with his friends in the woods.
"For us the saddest part of Kaden's death is that he will never be able to fulfil his potential. He was looking forward to driving his older brother's moped, driving a car, becoming a teacher, or visiting impossibly distant countries to him such as China. It is so hard to comprehend he will never do these things.
"Kaden will be forever remembered by us; with him looking down from the stars, and us looking up and smiling at all of our loving memories of him. He was much loved by all of his family and friends, and will be hugely missed by his siblings, and everyone else who was touched by his warmth and love."
The paramedics who were called to the scene tried to save the little boy as he lay on the floor but quickly decided to rush him to A&E.
Unfortunately, his injuries to the head were too severe and he could not be resuscitated. Kaden passed away at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Kaden's school, Garland Junior School in Reading, released a tribute statement to the ten-year-old. It read: "It is with deep sadness that we can confirm that one of our pupils, Kaden Reddick, died on Monday.
"Kaden's death has come as a shock to the school community and his loss will be felt by all our pupils, teaching staff and governors. Kaden was a pupil in Year Six and an energetic young man who enjoyed helping others.
"Today we send our heartfelt condolences to Kaden's family and our thoughts will remain with them as they come to terms with his death."
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