A 12-year-old boy was fatally injured while watching a football match when a metal peg from a touchline barrier pierced his head after two players became entangled in a pitch side rope.
Oliver Croker died in hospital two days after the incident in Devon, an inquest in Exeter was told.
In a statement, Oliver’s brother, Liam Hole, 26, described how he came on as a substitute in a cup game between his club, Bampton, and Bradninch.
He said: “I came on to the pitch with 30 minutes to play. I was playing centre forward. There were 15 people watching the match.” The pitch was cordoned off with FA “respect” barriers, used in youth football to keep parents and spectators away from the playing area.
Hole, a warehouse manager, said Oliver and his other young brother were sitting on the grass about a metre behind the barrier when Hole and another player became entangled in the rope after going shoulder to shoulder.
The rope tightened but the game continued, said Hole. “After a few seconds I heard someone shouting, ‘We need a first aider.’ I then saw my brother Olly lying on the floor. He had suffered a head injury. Olly was conscious. He was struggling.”
Hole held his brother’s hand and kept talking to him as emergency crews were called to the scene. “He was clearly in a lot of pain,” said Hole, who flew with his brother to Royal Devon and Exeter hospital before Oliver was transferred to Bristol children’s hospital.
He said the family were told Oliver only had a 10% chance of survival. He died on 14 September. Hole added: “I was shocked and devastated by what happened.”
Jeremy Pritchard, from Mid Devon district council’s environmental health department, told the inquest the anchor point from the fixing flew through the air and penetrated Oliver’s head following the challenge on the pitch.
He said there had been no similar incident since the barriers were introduced in the 2008-09 season.
Pritchard said the U-shaped peg might have been “dislodged in an earlier challenge” during the match.
The Exeter and greater Devon coroner, Dr Elizabeth Earland, had asked him if it was an unforeseen incident and whether he was aware of any similar incidents in the past. Pritchard said: “I was not aware of any similar incidents.”
Specialists at Bristol children’s hospital said Oliver, from Bampton, had sustained “a penetrating head injury from a metal peg”, the coroner told the hearing. The inquest heard the metal spike was similar to a “high-calibre croquet hoop”.
After the accident, the boy’s mother, Pippa Croker, revealed that some of his organs had been donated to help others.
She wrote on Facebook: “We would very much like you all to feel so proud of Oliver this evening, through organ donation he has given life to five other children. He will live on in them. What very lucky boys and girls they are!!! Love you our beautiful gorgeous boy!!”
One of Oliver’s former teachers, Amy Johnson, said: “I had the great privilege of getting to know Oliver … and today is a sad day but my heart is full of admiration knowing he’s helped other people live. Thank you for always making me laugh, it’s time to grow your wings and fly.”
The inquest continues.
