Devon boy, 13, died when he fell through roof of Okehampton warehouse in 'tragic' accident

A Devon schoolboy who fell to his death through a moss-covered skylight was killed in a 'tragic' accident, a court has heard.

Jethro Middleton, known as Jet, died on 13 April last year after falling through the roof of an industrial building on the town's North Road estate.

The 13-year-old and his friends had met up in containers by the Okehampton factory, known as the cheesecake, when they climbed a shed to reach scaffolding that led to the roof.

An inquest at Exeter Coroner's Court heard the scaffolding was in place to carry out repairs to the roof of the factory, which had temporary plastic panels in some places.

When the boys spotted people and trucks operating at the warehouse they walked back across the roof. It is believed Jet may have been looking at his phone.

Two of his friends, who can't be named for legal reasons, said the moss growth on the roof made it impossible to discern between proper roofing and the temporary panels.

Jet stepped on the plastic panels and his friends said it was at that point they heard a crack.

The two boys looked through the gap, one admitting he nearly fell himself, and saw Jet on the ground below.

The other teens at the scene raised the alarm with the factory who called emergency services.

Jet fell 30-40ft from the roof to the concrete floor below. Despite the efforts of the first responders, he was died at the scene after sustaining an unsurvivable head injury.

A worker at the transport and distribution depot said the warehouse would normally have been packed with stock which might have stopped Jet's fall onto the concrete ground.

The teenagers said they did see warning signs after the incident but would not have paid attention to them. One of the boys said: "We just do it because it was scary and it was fun."

A post-mortem said Jet, who was a keen rugby player for Okehampton RFC, died from an unsurvivable head injury.

A Health and Safety investigation said work was being carried out on the fragile and leaking roof and the boys gained access via a shed to the scaffolding which led to the top of the large warehouse.

The coroner Mr Spinney recorded an accidental death conclusion calling it 'tragic'.