Boy, 5, died as he tried a ‘roly poly’ on school climbing frame

A five-year-old boy died after attempting a “roly poly” on a climbing frame in his school playground, an inquest heard today.

Samuel Orola went into cardiac arrest after injuring himself while playing with his friends during a lunch break.

Frantic staff at Tolworth Infant and Nursery School in Surbiton tried to resuscitate him but his breathing became “raspy” and irregular as paramedics arrived. He was pronounced dead on arrival in hospital.

West London coroner’s court heard that his best friend, who alerted staff to what happened, later said Samuel was trying to do a “roly poly” on a climbing frame and hurt his neck.

A leading pathologist told the hearing that he may have died by straining a nerve connecting his brain and his heart after twisting his neck.

Jaishree Parekh, a teaching assistant on duty in September last year, told jurors: “A friend of Sammy’s came over to me and said Sammy is lying down and bleeding from his lips. He said ‘can you come and help’?

“I saw him lying on the ground in the recovery position. I went over and said Sammy, Sammy, but he did not respond. I knew immediately there was something wrong. I shouted for help.

“I could see bleeding coming from his lips. His eyes were closed. He was not moving and making no noise. There was a large group of children gathered around.”

Pathologist Sebastian Lucas told the jury that he was unable to find a clear cause of death after a post-mortem examination. He said it was possible Sammy had strained the vagus nerve which affects the heart after somehow twisting his neck.

He said: “It seems in Samuel’s case that his heart just stopped. There was not a head injury so it has to be cardiac.”