'He was my best friend... he was the apple of our eyes' - Devastated mum of boy, 2, killed in fireplace accident pays tribute

The devastated mum of a two-year-old boy who died in a fireplace accident at his home in Wigan has paid tribute to her 'best friend'.

Carter Walsh suffered a serious head injury when a marble fireplace fell on him as he danced in the living room of his family home on Fisher Close on Wednesday (September 18). Sadly, the toddler later died in hospital.

Speaking for the first time today his mum Samantha Walsh, 38, described the son as the 'apple of our eyes' as she paid tribute to him. She said: "He was my best friend.

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"He was well-loved, not just by his family but by anybody that met him. He broke the hearts of everybody he met... He was the apple of our eyes."

His devastated auntie Natalie Prescot, 35, said Carter had had the 'best day ever' with his family on Wednesday before his tragic death. He had been for lunch at a carvery restaurant with her mum, sister and daughter, Saskia Prescott, 16.

He then got to visit some horses - with the final photo of him showing him gazing up at one of them. Carter was then driven back to his home where Saskia had played with him for around 20 minutes while Samantha was out, Natalie said.

But disaster struck as they were dancing in the living room when the marble fireplace collapsed - after its bottom section 'snapped' - and fell on him.

Natalie said: "The fireplace, it just collapsed in the middle. It was giving and it’s just collapsed and it’s just come forward. It was a marble fireplace."

Saskia and the property's landlord, who was at the address fixing a boiler at the time, phoned an ambulance and tried to resuscitate Carter straight away. Carter's mum Samantha learned of the incident moments later when Saskia rang her to say that there had been an accident.

Describing the moment she heard of her son's accident, Samantha said: "She was very calm at first and she just said 'you need to come home, Carter has banged his head'.

"I don’t know if she was doing that to keep me calm. I was waiting for a taxi, and I was on my way home, and then I just kept ringing her.

"And every time I rang her, I could tell it was serious. She started to panic because she knew I was on my way back.

"I rang my mum. She came and picked me up.

"And when I got there, they were still working on him – the ambulance and the police. They let me see him, and then they said 'right, we need to get him to hospital'."

Samantha said her mum, who is a nurse, had warned her to prepare for the worst after they found out that Carter would not be airlifted to hospital. She added: "They said 'we’re going to Wigan [hospital].' I knew then, there was nothing… because they cancelled the air ambulance.

"My mum is a nurse at the hospital. So she knew as well. So she just said 'prepare yourself when you get to the hospital.’”

The devastated mum said she saw Carter on the ward he looked 'peaceful'. "It was just one head injury", Samantha said.

"But he just looked so peaceful… There was no bruising or anything to his face.

"The cut was covered over. There were no visible injuries.

"He’s had loads of checks at the hospital. They’ve said he had been healthy [prior to the accident]. Everything was fine."

Samantha said that when Carter was born, he had briefly been looked after by foster carers before she took full charge of him. And she was struggling to come to terms with her life now her son had died.

Samantha said: "I had to fight for him back out of foster care. I did that, I got him back, and I’ve spent every day with him since.

"He’s been with me now nearly two years, obviously. He was my best mate.

"’I've been back to the house, I couldn’t stay there. I went to stay with my sisters."

A fundraiser set up in Carter's memory, calling on people to donate to help his family, has raised more than £1,300 so far. The page reads: "Hi my name is Karen I am doing a go fund page on behalf of my niece Samantha who has tragically loss her 2 year old son Carter to a fatal accident."

In a statement issued yesterday, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: "At around 2.15pm on Wednesday September 18, officers were called to reports regarding a concern for welfare of a child on Fisher Close, Wigan. Sadly, despite the best efforts of paramedics, a two-year-old boy later died at hospital.

"Enquiries are ongoing and officers are supporting the family at this time." A spokesperson for the North West Ambulance Service said: "We attended an incident at a private address following a 999 call at 2.06pm.

"An ambulance, air ambulance, response vehicle, advanced paramedic attended. A patient was taken to hospital by road."

To donate to the fundraiser for Carter's family, click HERE.

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