The death of Bronson Battersby, the two-year-old boy who was found lifeless curled up next to the body of his 60-year-old father in his home in Skegness, northern England, has reignited debate about the role of social services in the UK and for childhood. The child's body – already classified by public authorities as “endangered” – was found on January 9 along with that of his father, who had died of a heart attack a dozen days earlier. After the bodies were found, the apartment in which the father and son lived was broken into by thieves, writes the BBC. According to initial information, Bronson died of starvation and dehydration. However, an autopsy is required to determine specific times and to clarify the causes of death. The story remains at the center of the English news as we wonder how it was possible that no one was able to intervene in time and save the little boy, suddenly left alone, from a likely death of hunger and thirst. Now the British government is also demanding answers. “It breaks our hearts to think about what happened,” said Chris Philp, undersecretary of state at the Home Office. “We need to understand exactly what happened and where mistakes were made.”
The role of social workers
The social workers handling the family's case visited the house where the father and son lived twice: on January 2nd and 4th. Since they had no access to the apartment, they alerted the English authorities. The operation then took place on January 9th when the tragedy was discovered. The child was entrusted to his father after the separation from his wife, while the mother Sarah Piesse, who no longer saw her son before Christmas, pointed the finger at the social services: “If they had done their work, my son would still be there there “alive,” he told The Sun.
Bronson's sister: “Social services did everything they could”
The sister of the 2-year-old child (with the same father but a different mother) does not agree that “the police and social services did everything possible given the powers they had to save Bronson.” Red.). that are available to them.” While the child's death due to hardship, his sister continued in an interview with the BBC, “was the tragic unintended consequence of his father's parental restrictions.” Melanie Battersby, 37, therefore agreed with the decision of the authorities at Lincolnshire County Council, to urgently review the work of social workers. “I am pleased that an investigation is being carried out to see if there were any mistakes or 'missed opportunities',” she told the English media outlet. But it has, in a certain sense, fulfilled public functions. In his words, Kenneth Battersby “was not a bad father and would do all he could to provide for his youngest child; but unfortunately he was born a “savage” and not an angel.”
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