A 10-YEAR-OLD boy died after banging his head while playing football at school. Aston Villa fan Yasir Hussain was wearing oversized trainers which may have been a factor in the tragedy, an inquest heard. The schoolboy, who dreamt of becoming a professional footballer, had been playing in goal and struck his head while jumping. Teachers […]
A 10-YEAR-OLD boy died after banging his head while playing football at school.
Aston Villa fan Yasir Hussain was wearing oversized trainers which may have been a factor in the tragedy, an inquest heard.
The schoolboy, who dreamt of becoming a professional footballer, had been playing in goal and struck his head while jumping.
Teachers at Leigh Primary School in Washwood Heath dialled 999 for an ambulance, but it failed to turn up.
The “improving” youngster was then taken home by his mother, but he sadly died in hospital five days later, BirminghamLive reports.
Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard the school’s deputy head understood he had slipped in a puddle when she called emergency services.
Fellow pupils told West Midlands Police that Yasir was in goal when he went to “save a ball and hit his head on a wall” on November 12 last year.
Christopher Rabone, the school’s community sports health officer, said Yasir was on the floor and able to speak, but he could not explain what had happened.
First-aider Zahira Mabine told the inquest the boy’s right eye was closed and his face and lips “looked pale”.
She also said he had a “considerable sized” bump on his head and recalled his trainers looked too big for him.
She added: “He kept putting his head back and saying ‘I want to go to sleep’.”
After 90 minutes and still no sign of an ambulance, deputy headteacher Samara Azam made a second emergency call when Yasir’s condition “improved” and he began to communicate more, the hearing was told.
In recordings played to the court, the call handler apologised for the delay and blamed the service being “extremely busy” with a surge in calls that day due to the pandemic.
She sought advice from her supervisor and a paramedic before cancelling the ambulance after Yasir’s mother Nazia Parveen said she would take her son home.
But his mum said had she received a fuller picture of his condition, she “would have made a different decision”.
Teachers were told to pass on advice to his family that if Yasir was to develop new symptoms to phone 999.
Later that day his condition deteriorated and he died five days later at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on November 17.
Ms Sabine, who was stationed in the playground at the time of the incident, said Yasir’s large trainers “could have been one of the factors” which led him to fall.
She told the inquest: “I was cleaning Yasir’s legs as they were quite muddy I noticed his trainers were too big for him.
“I was able to get three fingers between his heel and the back of his trainer.”
She went on to say she informed Yasir’s mum and grandmother about the shoes, to which they replied those were the ones he wanted.
The inquest was shown playground CCTV from 12.41pm – but footage did not capture the moment Yasir fell.
Louise Hunt, the Senior Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, said the boy was on his feet and is then suddenly seen on the floor.
She told the hearing that the “disjointed” recording scans from one side of the playground to the other.
He used to support Aston Villa. He wanted to be a footballer. Football was his favourite thing.
Yasir's mother Nazia Parveen
Yasir’s mother said her son dreamt of becoming a footballer.
She said: “He used to support Aston Villa. He wanted to be a footballer. Football was his favourite thing.
“He liked it there (at school). He has a good set of friends. I liked that school.”
Ms Parveen said the school had phoned her about the incident and told her to “quickly make your way here”.
She said he was given paracetamol for his hurting head and was told to take him to hospital if he got any worse.
Five-and-a-half hours later at home he “very suddenly got worse”, she said.
The inquest continues.
