Bronson Battersby: 2-year-old toddler dies of starvation curled up next to dead dad

A two-year-old toddler has died of dehydration and starvation after he was found next to his dad's dead body.

Bronson Battersby was found on January 9 at the property of his father Kenneth Battersby, in Skegness, Lincolnshire, curled up beside his father's lifeless body. Mr Battersby is believed to have died of a heart attack at some point after December 29.

According to The Sun, social workers, who visited Bronson due to him being classed as vulnerable, visited the property on January 2 but got no response at the door. Lincolnshire County Council said that the social worker who attended left the property and phoned the police shortly after there was no response.

A second call was made on January 4 and again, the police were phoned. However, the dad and son were not found dead until five days after the social worker obtained a key from the landlord and entered the property.

Bronson's mum Sarah Piesse said that more needed to be done by social services to protect her son. She said: “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.”

She 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.”

An urgent review has been undertaken at Lincolnshire County Council as a result of the pair's deaths. Heather Sandy, executive director for children’s services at the council, said: “This was a tragic incident, and we are supporting the family at this difficult time.

“We are carrying out a review of the case alongside partner agencies to better understand the circumstances, and we await the results of the coroner’s investigations as well. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved.”

A spokeswoman for Lincolnshire Police said: “Police were made aware of the deaths of a 60-year-old man and a two-year-old child at a property in Skegness, at around 3.25pm on January 9. Investigations have been carried out and the deaths are not being treated as suspicious.”