Today has been a very difficult day for the Patterson Family, the inquest into Harry Patterson's death was heard in Cardiff. The inquest was attended by Christian, Michelle and close family members.

Although the inquest was very difficult it did provide answers as to what happened on September 13th.   The inquest heard that a combination of the car not being parked in gear, the steepness of the slope and the brakes' "slippage" as they cooled led to the tragic accident. The Coroner Mary Hassell called the tragedy "appalling" and recorded a verdict of accidental death.  

Philip Painting, of the South Wales Police collision investigation unit, said many people did not realise they needed to leave a vehicle in gear when parking on a steep slope. He said: "This is because when the vehicle is parked when the rear brakes are still hot, as they cool down it can cause the disk brakes to slip.

Christian and Michelle today decided that this important message needs to get out there to prevent this awful tragedy from ever happening to another family.  Neither Christian or Michelle were aware that a vehicle should be parked in gear especially when on a slope.  Philip Painting drew attention to this in court stating that although it is mentioned in the highway code when asked most people would not know that the safe way to park a vehicle would be in gear.  He said that many police officers were only made aware of this when they took their advanced police driving courses.

Christian has asked Harry's Fund today to help get this message out there and to raise awareness of parking your car in gear when it is parked.

please click link below for press coverage of inquest.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/12/06/verdict-of-accidental-death-at-inquest-of-tragic-five-year-old-harry-patterson-91466-29903659/

"It's been almost 12 weeks since I received the awful news about Harry. My heart went straight to Christian, Michelle,  Dylan and their families. A few days later I went to Alltwen to visit them, to  give them my love and support. Whilst there,  I was overwhelmed at the number of cards, flowers and visitors they were getting. The strength of community was so great, I truly believed it helped my dear friends at that time. And now,  as the weeks and months pass 'Harrys Fund' has become a focus and an inspiration to all. It's a wonderful way of keeping the memory of a very special boy alive. 'Harrys Fund' has only just begun, and we've already witnessed the amazing generosity of people. Thank you to everyone who has so far contributed to this very special cause. I beleive  that we can bring nothing but smiles and sunshine to people  with this fund. And let's be honest, that's exactly what Harry always brought. X"