A two-year-old boy died of starvation after spending a week next to his father’s body

A two-year-old boy was found starved to death next to his father’s body in his home in the town of Skegness, in the British county of Lincolnshire. The tragedy, which shocked the United Kingdom, was made known on January 9, when a social worker entered the house after several attempts to contact his father, who had shown no signs of life since December 26th.

According to British newspapers, the minor was found curled up in his pajamas with his father, Kenneth Battersby, and the family dog, who managed to survive. The father was apparently last seen on December 26 and the bodies were found on January 9.

The father lived alone with the child, as he was estranged from his wife. “He was alone at home with Bronson and this meant that there was no one left to take care of Bronson and, sadly, as a result, Bronson also died,” local police said.

Social services tried to contact the father on January 2 but received no response, according to the Daily Mail. Two days later, a social worker visited the house again but was unable to contact the man. In both cases the police were alerted as the family was considered vulnerable. Finally, the same worker entered the house on January 9 and found the lifeless bodies of the 60-year-old father and the 2-year-old child.

The autopsy result revealed that the man died no earlier than the 29th, Therefore, the child could have gone a week without eating or drinking until he died.

The boy’s mother, Sarah Piesse, 43, last saw her son before Christmas after arguing with her ex-partner. The woman told the Sun that “if social services had done their job, Bronson would still be alive. But they didn’t do anything.”

The child was left in the darkness of the house, without food or water. Piesse noted that “we need to be able to trust social workers to keep our children safe.” According to The Sun, the social worker has not been suspended, although she appears to have been absent voluntarily.

Heather Sandy, executive director of children’s services, said: “We are conducting a review of the case with partner agencies to better understand the circumstances. We are awaiting the medical examiner’s findings.”

How long can a child go without eating?

“Bronson was a lovely guy and deserved so much more,” a family friend told the Sun. “They found him hugging his father’s legs, he must have thought he had fallen asleep or something. He must have screamed, I don’t know how the neighbors didn’t hear him.”

“Apparently a child of that age can go three or four days without food, it must have been torture,” added the aforementioned friend. “He was always smiling and looking for a hug”

Without going into the responsibility of the family or the situation of the parents, The friend also directly blamed Social Services: “If they had done their job, the child would be alive. How do you explain that they simply accepted that there was no response in the house where a vulnerable child resided?”