Carter was the apple of our eyes

DEVASTATED MUM'S TRIBUTE TO BOY WHO DIED IN FIREPLACE HORROR

- DOUGLAS WHITBREAD AND ASHLIE BLAKEY

THE devastated mum of a two-year-old boy who died in a fireplace accident at his home 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 in Wigan on Wednesday. Sadly, the toddler later died in hospital.

Speaking for the first time, 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. 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 Prescott, 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.