Boy, 10, was killed by falling Topshop barrier just 6 days after girl’s skull was fractured by barrier in another store
A SCHOOLGIRL was hit by a falling display barrier at a Topshop store just days before a 10-year-old boy was killed by a similar barrier. Kaden Reddick was crushed by the falling display in Reading, six days after another one collapsed in Glasgow. The youngster, described as the “sweetest boy”, died from severe head injuries […]
A SCHOOLGIRL was hit by a falling display barrier at a Topshop store just days before a 10-year-old boy was killed by a similar barrier.
Kaden Reddick was crushed by the falling display in Reading, six days after another one collapsed in Glasgow.
The youngster, described as the “sweetest boy”, died from severe head injuries caused by the 17-stone sign, and a jury heard that the previous incident left a schoolgirl with a skull fracture.
Topshop has since recalled all display stands at tills “as a safety precaution” with “immediate effect”.
Sir Philip Green’s former Arcadia Group, which owned the Topshop stores when Kaden was killed, went on trial accused of health and safety failings.
The suppliers of the controversial barrier and the shopfitters, Stoneforece, have also been accused of the same failings.
Prosecutor James Ageros QC told the jury that no urgency was applied to the investigation until Kaden Reddick was killed in February 2017.
The young lad’s heartbroken family paid tribute to him, saying: “Kaden was a loving, cheeky, energetic boy whose death will leave a huge empty hole in the lives of everybody that knew him.
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“Our house feels empty without him. He was also adventurous; loving to play outside on his bike, or with his friends in the woods.
“For us the saddest part of Kaden’s death is that he will never be able to fulfil his potential.
“He was much loved by all of his family and friends, and will be hugely missed by his siblings, and everyone else who was touched by his warmth and love.”
Kaden had just finished watching a film in a nearby the cinema on a family outing at the time of the tragedy.
Arcadia and Topshop, which plunged into administration in November 2020, could face huge fines if convicted after staff failed to test the barriers despite the earlier incident.
Mr Ageros said:”Kaden Reddick was killed when a queue barrier toppled over and hit his forehead when he was balancing on top of it.
“At the top of the barrier were baskets encouraging shoppers to impulse-purchase.
“These were items attractive to children. Kaden and his younger sister went close to the barriers and were interested in what was in the baskets.
“You can see the plinth where the outer barrier was fixed with only two screws – more suitable for hanging pictures on a wall, not holding up a heavy object. It was only these two screws that held the barrier to the floor.
“At no point during that process did anyone calculate what loads it would need to withstand in a busy shopping environment and to keep it secure on the floor.
‘NO FOCUS OR URGENCY’
“It wasn’t just confined to the Reading store – the incident barrier was not a one-off.
“Another barrier in the same shop was wholly unstable and could have tipped over in the same way at any time.
“Other barriers in other Topman and Topshop stores were unstable and also presented the risk of collapse.
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“Six days before Kaden had died, a similar barrier, this time entirely unfixed, toppled over in a shop in Glasgow and a child suffered serious injuries including a fractured skull.
“The prosecution says that the investigation into that incident did not have the necessary focus or urgency, especially when the problem was not just with unsecured barriers but also screwed down ones, like in Reading.”
The court heard that the fitters failed to fix the barriers, but Mr Ageros claims that the other three companies were also liable for his death.
Topshop, Arcadia, and Realm Projects Ltd are all accused of failure to discharge health and safety duty, failing to ensure that the design, manufacture and maintenance of the barrier did not pose a risk to the health and safety of someone not employed by them under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
Stoneforce Ltd, the company which installed the barriers in the shop, had earlier admitted the health and safety charges against them. The three companies all deny the other charges against them. The trial continues.
