Police have interviewed two men in their 70s under caution in relation to the death of a seven-year-old boy in Romford.
Harvey Tyrrell, from Harold Wood, was said by witnesses to have died when he fell and hit his head while climbing over a pub wall on 11 September last year, according to reports at the time. A JustGiving page set up to raise funds for his funeral described his death as a “tragic accident”.
However, on Monday, the Metropolitan police said the cause of Harvey’s death had been confirmed as electrocution and they had passed a file on the incident to prosecutors.
They said a 70-year-old man was interviewed under caution on 12 September 2018 and a 72-year-old man was interviewed under caution on 11 January.
Police were called by the London ambulance service to the King Harold pub in Station Road, Romford, shortly after 5.20pm on 11 September last year. He had been playing in the pub’s beer garden.
Harvey was found unresponsive and was taken to an east London hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6.33pm.
Police said a special postmortem was carried out on 13 September at St Thomas’ Hospital, central London.
An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Walthamstow coroner’s court on 21 September. The inquest heard from a witness that Harvey stood on a garden light and and grabbed a railing above his head, and then appeared to “tighten up” and “straightened up” before letting go, the Romford Recorder reported.
A parent who was supervising told the coroner that when Harvey grabbed the railing he had felt an electrical surge.
The JustGiving page, which raised more than £25,000, described Harvey as “a beautiful, happy and healthy seven-year-old boy who loved his football just like any other boy his age”. It said his family were left heartbroken by his death.
Hundreds of tributes were left to Harvey on the JustGiving page. Jan Willett wrote: “Sending much love to Harvey’s family. Harvey was such a cheerful happy little boy and I feel privileged that I knew him during his time at HWPS [Harold Wood primary school]. Sleep peacefully Harvey.”
His football club, Harold Wood Cougars, described him as a talented member of its under-eights team. As a sign of respect it cancelled all junior football matches the weekend after his death, while the senior team wore black armbands and held a minute’s silence.
Harold Wood primary school, where he had just started in year three, described him as “a delightful member of the school” who would be missed by everyone.
