THE mum of a five-year-old boy who fell to his death from a 15th-floor window told an inquest he still “could have been here” if the council had done its job properly.
Aalim Ahmed was killed instantly when he landed on railings at the bottom of a block of flats in Plaistow, East London.
Aalim fell to his death from a block of flats Credit: Kevin Dunnett
His mum said she had complained about the windows being ‘faulty’ Credit: Kevin Dunnett
The youngster’s body was discovered by his dad shortly before 6am on May 16, 2024.
Aalim’s mum Sahra Osman told Walthamstow Coroner’s Court she was “scared” and “horrified” when Newham Council put them in the top-floor flat, which needed repairs.
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She expressed concerns with to the top-floor flat in Jacobs House in February 2023 and felt it was not suitable for Aalim and his toddler sibling.
But the mum claimed she was told to move in first and then complain or risk being made homeless if she turned the property down.
Sahra said the windows had “faulty” restrictors and her ongoing complaints to get them fixed led only to a series of workmen who did not sort the problem.
The mum told the court that when a window engineer came in January 2024, she tried “all the windows” in the flat and she could still open them.
She wanted a safety device, called a restrictor, on all the windows and noted the bedroom window could be left “just open wide”, saying “I was quite scared and it was unsafe”.
The engineer said he would see about getting it fixed but within a day she found a window restrictor on the floor.
She called the council to complain and begged them to help, telling the inquest “the window was wide open, it would not lock, it was hanging”, and she wanted to speak to a manager.
Sahra stressed it was a safety issue for her children, but said the council did not treat it as “an emergency”.
The mum said the “restrictors were not working, they were there for decoration” and she was frustrated as it could take months to get a proper response from the council.
But the council suggested the engineer was not told of any issues with the restrictor in the kitchen but there were problems in the living room.
Sahra claimed she insisted she told the workmen there was a problem in all the rooms and accused the council of “not taking my situation seriously enough”.
She also told the council her son had autism and “no sense of danger” in an email and “believes” she also sent a letter about his diagnosis.
The mum added: “You guys could have prevented this tragic thing from happening. If you had done your job, he could have been here.
“I think that Newham Council failed me as a mum, as a tenant.
“I tried everything. I tried to tell them my concerns about safety multiple time and you guys ignored me rather than doing anything about the actual issues.
“I told you my son (Aalim) has autism.
“I do not know what more I can prove. I showed you a GP letter. The people that knew him sent a letter to the council saying this family need to be moved from this flat because they are not safe.”
Reliving the horror, Sahra said she believes her son may have been reaching for a biscuit when he fell from the window.
She told the inquest the windows were “always closed” before the family went to bed.
The court heard Sahra’s screams alerted Aalim’s dad Makail Ahmed, who was “screaming in shock” when he saw the youngster’s pyjamas.
Makail told the inquest the moment he found his son was one of “disbelief – it was a nightmare.”
The inquest continues.
