Family of toddler who fell from Leeds high-rise calls for urgent national safety review
Video report by Jonathan Brown
The family of a one-year-old boy who fell to his death from a seventh floor council flat say more lives could be lost without an urgent safety review.
Exodus Eyob died after climbing through an open window at their home in Saville Green, in Leeds.
The windows had circular restrictors on either side but Exodus's brother, who is autistic, would play with them and push them open.
Exodus' mother Birikti Berihew said she had concerns over the windows since moving to the flat in 2010 and had begged the council for extra extra cable locks to be fitted to restrict how far they could open.
She said she made videos demonstrating the problem.
Ms Berihew said: "Before this happened I spoke to the council more than six times about the window. They came and checked it and said this is fine and ignored it."
The accident happened on 2 July 2022 after a safety device was disengaged because it was a hot day.
Exodus' sister, Reem Semere, said her younger brother had been playing in the living room before he wandered into her bedroom and climbed on the bed.
"All of sudden the house was just super quiet. We couldn't hear him running around," she said.
She said she remembered her mother getting onto her bed and looking down out of the window.
"She saw Exodus on the floor and started screaming and she told me he fell. 'He's there'. I was in an absolute state of shock," she said.
Exodus was pronounced dead at Leeds General Infirmary.
A coroner ruled that his death was an accident.
The incident happened decade after six-year-old Liam Shackleton fell from a bedroom window just half a mile away. In 2012 his death was also ruled an accident.
Ms Semere said: "It is just a constant pattern of kids falling out windows because the council or landlords are not putting permanent fitted restrictors on the windows to prevent them opening so wide."
The family has enlisted the help of a solicitor who has launched a petition - which has already gained 47,000 signatures - calling on the government for a national safety review.
Gareth Naylor, of Ison Harrison Solicitors, said: "There are two or three deaths every year for the last 20 years in identical circumstances, a child falling from a window with inadequate safety measures."
In a statement Leeds City Council said:"The council takes window safety in its properties extremely seriously and we work hard to communicate relevant advise to residents"
The family have since moved to a two storey house and hope by raising awareness of the issue and campaigning for change they can prevent anymore lives being lost.
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