Farmer’s son, four, electrocuted after touching a desk lamp

Oliver Walker was 'a bright little boy with intelligence beyond his years.'

A four-year-old old boy died after using a modified desk lamp in a caravan where he kept his toys, an inquest heard.

Oliver Walker was found by his mum grasping the black lamp on the floor of a caravan his family were using while their farmhouse home was being renovated.

She tried to resuscitate him on a bale of hay while his uncle dialled 999, but he couldn’t be saved.

Coroner Martin Fleming said Oliver had been found in the most ‘distressing circumstances imaginable’.

The ‘bright young boy’ who loved tractors lived on a farm in Keighley, West Yorkshire, with his parents Charlotte and Andrew Walker and his younger sister.

The desk lamp – which had never been seen by his family before – had been modified to be able to be used with a 12v supply by-passing a transformer in the base.

However, the mains electricity supplied to the caravan was 240v – the usual voltage for household sockets – and the chrome rods connecting the base to the bulb had conducted this electricity once plugged in, Bradford Coroners’ Court heard.

An RCD device used to trip the electricity if there was a fault was not working, the inquest heard.

A ‘competent amateur’ was believed to have carried out the modification – although the individual who made the changes has not been identified, the inquest was told.

The family were carrying out building work on their farm at the time of the accident and had purchased two caravans in December 2017 – one for temporary living and one to use as a ‘utility’.

Oliver’s ‘outside toys’ were kept in the caravan, the hearing told.

After being picked up from school by his father Andrew, Oliver had gone to the caravan to play at the farm.

Describing the moment his mother Charlotte had discovered Oliver in a statement read to the court by coroner’s official Bernard Tate, she said she originally thought he was ‘playing about’.

When she realised what had happened, Charlotte said: ‘I started screaming for Ben [Oliver’s uncle].

‘Ben called 999 and I started CPR. I carried on until the paramedics took over.

‘The lamp, I had never seen it before.

‘The only thing I can think of is the lamp came with the caravan.’

West Yorkshire Police conducted a joint investigation with the health and safety executive.

The original owner of the caravan was found to be John Marsh, who admitted to police he owned the lamp but had no knowledge of purchasing it or making any modifications to it.

He sold the caravan – which originally had no electricity supply – as scrap to Wainman’s Dealers in Silsden, West Yorkshire, who then sold it to the Walker family in December 2017, the inquest heard.

Giving evidence at the hearing in person, Mr Marsh said: ‘I had no idea there was a potentially fatal lamp in there.’

West Yorkshire Police excluded any third party involvement or individual who could be identified.

The coroner recorded a narrative conclusion.

Addressing the family directly, he said: ‘He was such a much loved son, brother and nephew.

‘He was a lot of things to a lot of people.

‘[Oliver] was a bright little boy with intelligence beyond his years.

‘It has and continues to leave a massive void in all of your lives.’

The coroner offered his condolences to the family and advised the public to check all old electronic appliances.