A toddler is thought to have starved to death after his father died of a heart attack in the UK, with authorities reviewing what happened.
Bronson Battersby, two, was found dead next to his father at a house in Skegness in England’s north east.
The family is blaming social services, which has launched a review.
Bronson was found in the house with the body of his father, Kenneth, 60.
Lincolnshire County Council executive director of children’s services, Heather Sandy, described the deaths as “devastating”.
“It is a tragedy that Kenneth died of a heart attack,” she told BBC Radio 4’s World at One.
“He was at home on his own with Bronson and that meant that there was nobody left to give Bronson care, and sadly as a result of that, Bronson has also passed away.”
Ms Sandy said a review of various agencies’ involvement would be carried out.
Ms Sandy confirmed a social worker “had contact” with Mr Battersby on 27 December, with a home visit arranged for 2 January.
When they got no answer at the home in the seaside town, the worker alerted their manager and the police.
The same thing happened on January 4.
It wasn’t until January 9 that a social worker contacted the landlady, got inside and made the grim discovery.
The Sun reports preliminary tests have shown the child died of “dehydration and starvation.”
Lincolnshire Police said it was not treating the deaths as suspicious but had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), adding it was standard procedure in such cases, the BBC said.
The father is thought to have died 14 days before the pair were found.
Bronsons’s mother Sarah Piesse, who had split from his father, said her child was “too small” to reach snacks in the cupboard that could have saved him, The Sun reported.
“Kenny moved all the snacks higher up so he couldn’t get to them without asking,” she said.
“Now all I can think of in my head is him, starving, reaching up and trying to get them. I can’t bear it.
“The fridge would have been packed with Christmas leftovers.”
A boxer dog left in the house survived.