‘Nothing can ever bring Alexys back to us’ – Mum of girl killed in ‘avoidable’ lift accident

The mother of a young girl who was killed in a lift at her home has described the time since the accident as "unimaginable".

Alexys Brown, 5, died after she put her head through a broken panel in a disability lift in her home in Weymouth, England in 2015. The panel had been damaged three months before and hadn't been repaired, reports the BBC. Alexys's grandmother found her with her head trapped. She tried to free her but couldn't and called for the emergency services. Firefighters had to cut her free as there was no emergency handle or key to lower the lift. The girl's injuries were described as "horrific". She was pronounced dead in hospital. The British Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought a case against Synergy Housing, the Brown family landlord and Orona Ltd, the company contracted to maintain the lift. The companies accepted responsibility for the tragedy and were yesterday fined a total of £1.5m. Speaking outside Bournemouth Crown Court, Alexys's mother Lorraine said that the family were satisfied that justice had been served.

“The loss of Alexys has impacted our lives and our children’s lives immensely,” she said. “Nothing can ever bring Alexys back to us. The fines to us are irrelevant. All we ever wanted was an apology from Synergy and we got that. "Alexys was a loving, carefree and angelic little girl who was full of energy, love and laughter “I hope that what has happened to our family sheds light on others in order to avoid anything like this ever happening again. “We are now looking forward in raising our children with memories, photos, videos and stories of their sister.”

Leo Diez, an inspector with the HSE, described Alexys's death as "wholly avoidable". "As a result of their negligence, a wholly avoidable tragedy under horrific circumstances has occurred where a five-year-old child has lost her life and a family have been left utterly devastated at the loss of their little girl."