Archie Battersbee: Mum tells inquest his death was an accident

The mother of Archie Battersbee has told his inquest that she believed his death was accidental.

Archie, 12, died in August when his life support was withdrawn following his parents' legal battle with the NHS hospital treating him.

He was found unconscious at the family home in Southend, Essex, on 7 April last year by his mother, Hollie Dance.

The court also heard evidence Archie had shared messages with others discussing self-harm and suicide.

Ms Dance told Essex's senior coroner Lincoln Brookes that she was unaware of the messages.

Asked how she thought her son died, she told the inquest on Tuesday: "I think he climbed on the banister and probably fell, causing serious injury to his neck, resulting in unconsciousness."

She added that Archie "thought he was the next Spider-Man" and would often climb on things.

It was her belief, she said, that Archie's death was an "accident".

Mr Brookes said: "The police found he had shared some thoughts with others online or in a WhatsApp group. How were you when you read that?"

Ms Dance replied: "Heartbroken, very surprised... if there were any marks on his body I would have seen them."

She also told the inquest Archie was the "apple of my eye", "well-loved" and "protected".

Archie died on 6 August when life support was withdrawn after a number of courts agreed with doctors that stopping treatment was in Archie's best interest.

Ms Dance described finding her son's body before running outside and screaming for help.

She said: "I was crying hysterically, I was saying 'please don't leave mummy, I love you little man'".

"I repeated that over and over, I just didn't want him to leave me."

Joseph Norton, in a written statement to the court, said he was in his mother's garden, next to Archie's family home when he heard shouting and thought someone had been stabbed.

He said: "I heard a scream, a startling type of scream that alarmed me."

Mr Norton, who carried out CPR on Archie before ambulance crews arrived, said the boy looked "pale" and his lips were turning bluer.

Ms Dance had raised concerns about the way her son was carried into the ambulance, saying he was "carried out by his ankles... like cattle, not my little boy".

When asked about this by the coroner, an attending paramedic said she did not think a neck brace was "applicable", adding: "When we moved him from the property we ensured everyone was still supporting him."

She added there were no obvious signs of "massive trauma".

Ms Dance told the inquest her son had been affected by the separation of his parents and had been bullied at school, leading to him being removed from mainstream education.

He loved gymnastics and mixed martial arts, with his first fight scheduled weeks after he was injured, an event he was "looking forward to".

Family members had told her "he wasn't down, just a bit bored", in the weeks before the incident.

Ms Dance has previously feared he may have been taking part in an online challenge and suffered brain damage.

"I still don't know if Archie was trying the blackout challenge on April 7 or before, I still don't know what he was watching on TikTok," she said.

She added: "He hated bullying and loud shouting. I can see that he might possibly be influenced, even though he knew right from wrong, if that's what peers and social media were telling him to do so. I fear that's what was prompted."

At a pre-inquest hearing in November, Mr Brookes said there was "no evidence" to substantiate that Archie had been taking part in an online challenge.

The inquest, expected to last two days, continues.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk