Joshua Robbins

THE mother of a young man who fell to his death from a housing block balcony has authored a children’s book designed to help prevent future tragedies.

Fiona Jane Garrett’s Little feet, safe at home is “a story about windows and balconies” that promotes the No More Falls campaign legacy of Joshua Robbins.

Joshua, 23, fell through a fifth floor communal balcony in Holland and Thurston Dwellings, Holborn, in January.

Police are investigating whether to bring corporate manslaughter charges against the Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA) after steel “erosion” was found in the balcony balustrades.

Ms Garrett said: “I cannot bring Joshua back. What I can do is turn my love for him into something practical that helps protect others. I want his legacy to reach families before another tragedy happens.”

In the foreword, she writes: “Through gentle language and familiar activities, it helps children learn about windows, balconies and asking a grown-up for help.

“I hope it will support calm conversations, read together at a pace that suits each child.

“Keeping children safe is always an adult responsibility. This story must sit alongside supervision, suitable window safety measures and properly maintained balconies and barriers.

A page from Little feet, safe at home, with safety guidance informed by Child Accident Prevention Trust, RoSPA, and Blue Cross nomorefalls.co.uk

“Josh is at the heart of this campaign. I want his legacy to help others live safely in the places they call home.”

In the “gentle story to read together”, for four- to eight-year-olds, a bunny rabbit mother (see above) gives advice to her child about “safe places to look and play”:

— “I can look through a closed window with my feet on the floor. Glass is for looking through, not leaning on.”

— “I stay back from an open window and ask my grown-up.

— “Before we go onto a balcony, I wait for my grown-up. My grown-up decides whether we can go outside. My grown-up stays with me.

— “There is a drop beyond the railing. I stand back. My feet stay on the floor. I do not climb, sit or lean on the railing.
— “If a window or railing looks broken, or I am worried, I move away. I tell my grown-up. I do not touch or test it. I can say, point or show: ‘Help, please’.”

The book, which can be downloaded online, includes a section for grown-ups that says it is not responsibility of children to check balcony safety.

The launch of the book came a day after the death of a four-year-old girl who fell from a tower block in Barking on Saturday October 24. The circumstances remain under investigation.

Earlier this month, Ms Garrett met Matthew Pennycook, housing and planning minister, and Judith, Baroness Blake of Leeds, minister for building safety, fire, and resilience.

The campaign is tying to create a legal precedent, known as The Joshua Test, to compels all landlords to implement “fall-protection systems” and make thorough checks of balconies and public walkways.

The ISHA has said that it is cooperating fully with the police investigation.