Two-year-old woman drowned in backyard bin after council did not organise foster care when her mom was in hospital regardless of repeated requests, inquest hear

A two-year-old girl drowned in a garden bin after her council failed to organise foster care when her mother was in hospital, an inquest has heard.

She had repeatedly begged Newham Council for help finding little Mazeedat Adeoye somewhere to stay.

The toddler was playing on her own when she fell headfirst into the bin on January 29, 2022 and drowned in nine centimetres of water.

Mazeedat’s mother, Balikis Adeoye, says she had consistently asked for help from social services at Newham Council to find a foster placement for her daughter but to no avail. 

The mother-of-two, 37, who says she had no family support network to rely on, had asked the council about the placement while she stayed with her three-month-old son, who was having heart surgery.

An inquest heard social workers did not arrange a placement and advised Ms Adeoye to find support from the community or friends.

As a result, Ms Adeoye had to leave her daughter with an acquintance as a last resort when she needed to be in hospital.

The inquest slammed the authority, accusing Newham Council and those caring for Mazeedar of a ‘gross failure’ after they found she died due to inadequate supervision in the garden.

Coroner Graeme Irvine recorded a narrative conclusion in which he ruled Ms Adeoye had undertaken ‘significant efforts’ to secure state help for childcare.

He added: ‘Local authority child services failed to support Mazeedat’s family and put in place appropriate support for Mazeedat’s care.’

There was a ‘missed opportunity’ to offer a temporary fostering placement for Mazeedat.

If a placement had been arranged her death would probably have been avoided, the coroner found.

The coroner also found a ‘culture of hostility’ towards families existed in the council’s No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) team.

Management had allowed a ‘culture of impunity’ where staff felt capable of ‘bullying’ clients and Ms Adeoye was treated in a ‘dehumanising’ way.

Mr Irvine said he now intended to issue a prevention of future deaths report calling on the council to set out what measures it will take to improve services, and to refer the matter to Social Work England.

Ms Adeoye says her daughter had been staying with people she ‘didn’t know or trust well enough’ at the time of her death.

She is now demanding answers after her ‘beautiful and happy’ two-year-old girl drowned when she slipped out of the sight of her carer.

Following a search at the family home in Dagenham when the infant was identified as missing, the little girl was tragically found in a bin which contained nine centimetres of water.

Ms Adeoye moved to the UK from Nigeria in March 2021 and had first been referred to Newham Council four months before her daughter’s death because she was sofa surfing and she and Mazeedat had nowhere to stay.  

Ms Adeoye said: ‘I struggle to find the words to describe the heartbreak I feel over Mazeedat’s death.

‘She was the most beautiful and happy little girl who brought sunshine to my life.

‘Before her birth, I only knew how to love myself. When she was born Mazeedat was the best thing that had happened in my life.

‘I’ll always keep Mazeedat close to my heart and will forever cherish the short but precious years we had together.

‘I just hope that by speaking out other families facing the same situation don’t have to experience the same pain I will always live with.’

The inquest was undertaken by coroner Irwin Mitchell at East London Coroner’s Court and concluded on Friday.

At the time of having been referred to social services, Ms Adeoye was an overstayer as she had separated from her UK partner.

She had no recourse to public funds (NRPF), meaning she could not claim for assistance to help with her living costs, but the council still had a duty to provide her family with support.

It was in September 2021, after her son, who is British, was diagnosed with a hole in the heart that the mother had asked social services at Newham Council to help find a foster placement for her daughter.

This was because she needed to stay with her son when he went into hospital for life-saving surgery.

But this never happened with one social worker saying Ms Adeoye had two children so needed to provide an equal level of support, the court heard.

So when she went into hospital with her son on January 25 2022, she had to leave Mazeedat with an aquaintance.

On 29 January, Mazeedat went missing. She was pronounced dead just over two hours later.

Balikis said: ‘At the time she died, Mazeedat was staying with people I didn’t know or trust well enough.

‘However, I felt that I had no choice but to leave her in their care.

‘Faced with the alternative of leaving my other child, a three-month-old baby alone in hospital to recover from heart surgery, this was no choice at all.

‘I consistently asked for help from social services, but none was arranged.’

Paramedics tried to resuscitate Mazeedat, but she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at hospital.

A post-mortem examination found her cause of death was drowning. 

Juliet Spender, an expert public law and human rights lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing My Adeoye, said after the inquest: ‘Not only is this is a truly tragic case which has left Balikis heartbroken, but one that shines a worrying light on how families can be left struggling to access social care.

‘There were several opportunities to ensure an appropriate foster placement was put in place for Mazeedat while her mum gave birth and while she went through the ordeal of her then three-month-old baby undergoing life-saving heart surgery.

‘Sadly, we believe, these opportunities were missed with devastating consequences.

‘Balikis remains deeply upset and aggrieved that during evidence, representatives of Newham Council, maintained that it was her choice to leave Mazeedat in someone else’s care, rather than have her in a temporary foster placement.

‘The family had not long been in the UK and had no relatives or close friends who could care for Mazeedat – and suitable alternative childcare was well beyond their reach.

‘Local authorities have legal duties under The Children Act to safeguard and promote the welfare of children regardless of their immigration status.

‘Charities and research organisations have consistently raised concerns that councils can adopt hostile gatekeeping tactics that prevent children in families with no recourse to public funds from accessing the support they are entitled to.

‘Balikis has shown incredible courage in giving evidence.

‘While it’s sadly too late for Mazeedat, it’s now vital that lessons are learned from this tragedy to protect children in the future.’

Ms Adeoyebe said: ‘The inquest and going over everything again has been traumatic.

‘However, I was determined to give evidence in the hope of bringing about meaningful change in Mazeedat’s memory.’

Newham Council said: ‘We were devastated by Mazeedat’s tragic death. Our thoughts remain with her family and loved ones.

‘After the terrible accident which led to her death in January 2022 we undertook an investigation into our role and since that time our social work practice and approach has been overhauled – a change, which has since been recognised by Ofsted who now rate our services as ‘Good’.

‘We will very carefully consider the inquest findings, and will comply with the request from the coroner to provide further information within the next 56 days.’