UK police probe after boy, 2, found dead beside father

The boy, Bronson Battersby, was discovered on January 9 next to his father Kenneth, 60, who is believed to have died of a heart attack at their home in Skegness, northern England.

He is thought to have died around December 29. The boy's mother, Sarah Piesse, told The Sun newspaper that her son starved to death and blamed social services.

The head of children's services at the local Lincolnshire County Council said a social worker visited the rented property for a scheduled appointment on January 2, but received no answer.

The social worker then "made inquiries at other addresses where the child could be" and contacted the police, said Heather Sandy.

A second unannounced visit on January 4 also went unanswered, and the police were contacted again.

When the police failed to respond, the social worker arranged to be let into the property by a landlord on January 9 where she discovering the pair's bodies.

Sandy, who said the council had started a review into what happened, told the BBC that Kenneth was at home alone with his son when he died.

"That meant that there was nobody left to give Bronson care, and sadly as a result of that, Bronson has also passed away," she said.

The broadcaster said the local coroner was waiting for a pathologist's report before opening an inquest.

Lincolnshire Police said the force were made aware of the deaths of a 60-year-old man and a two-year-old child at a property in Skegness, at around 3:25 pm (1525 GMT) on January 9.

The deaths are not being treated as suspicious, the police said.

The force said it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

"The exact actions of organisations involved will be analysed in a forthcoming review and at this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further," it said in a statement.

"As part of standard procedures we have referred this to the IOPC as a result of a death or serious injury following police involvement."

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