The mother of a young boy who died after being electrocuted at an east London pub is calling for annual safety inspections to be enforced at pubs.
Harvey Tyrrell, 7, suffered a fatal shock at the King Harold pub in Romford in September 2018 after he touched unsafe lighting in the garden.
The pub’s owner David Bearman was jailed for nine years in 2021 for the manslaughter of Harvey after his brother-in-law, Colin Naylor, installed lights that had significant defects.
Naylor, an electrician, was jailed for 12 months after being found guilty of failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Almost five years on from her son’s death, Harvey’s mother Danielle Jones said pubs should undergo safety inspections each year, instead of the current requirement of an electric installation condition report every five years.
“I would love it to be an annual inspection and if they haven’t got that in place they shouldn’t be allowed to open their doors to the public or sell alcohol,” she told the BBC.
Speaking about the ongoing impact of her son’s death, Ms Jones told the BBC: “We never thought that we’d go for dinner as a family of three and then come home without our son.
“You know they say time heals but it gets harder and harder every single year… it’s so hard to live every minute of every day without him because he was such a big part of our family.”
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), which would be responsible for any legislation change, said all building regulations are “under review” but there were no plans to amend them.
A spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about this sad case and we extend our deepest condolences to the family and all those who knew Harvey.
“While we keep all building regulations under review, there are no current plans to change them.”
During Naylor’s trial, the court heard how the lighting circuit around the garden’s perimeter featured “significant defects”, including inadequate insulation to prevent water from getting inside.
Trial judge Martyn Zeidman QC described the pub as a disgrace and a “timebomb waiting to go off”.
In June, Ms Jones called on pubs, restaurants, and other hospitality venues to ensure all electrical installations and equipment in outdoor spaces were safe as the summer season began.
Ms Jones said at the time: “People who run pubs and other hospitality venues should regularly check their electrics, especially as pub beer gardens are getting busier at this time of the year.
“I’m still hearing of other incidents involving unsafe electrics in pubs and this needs to stop – I don’t want any other family to go through what happened to us.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Britain’s national workplace regulator, says venues should arrange for a competent person to carry out electrical installation work, only using lights and heaters specifically designed for outdoor use, and regularly checking equipment for damage or water ingress.
There were an estimated 27,000 pubs across the UK that had beer gardens in 2020, according to data from the British Beer & Pub Association.
