Edinburgh nursery manager fined after baby choked to death

A nursery manager been fined £2,000 for breaching the health and safety at work act after a baby in her care choked to death on a piece of mango.

Fox Goulding, who was 10 months old, died at the Bright Horizons Nursery in Edinburgh in July 2019.

Miranda Anderson, 48, was found guilty following a four-day trial.

Earlier this year, the company that ran Bright Horizons was fined £800,000 pounds after admitting health and safety failings.

The court heard that the baby began to choke while eating dinner at the Corstorphine nursery on 9 July 2019.

A staff member who returned from the toilet initially thought he was sleeping but eventually realised he was not breathing. He died in hospital the next day.

The Crown Office said the death could have been preventable if staff had been properly supervised.

Ms Anderson was responsible for overseeing health and safety in her role as nursery manager.

She was found guilty of failing to ensure that children were adequately supervised during mealtimes and of failing to adequately control the risk of injury or death to children from choking on food.

In a statement issued through Thompsons Solicitors, Fox's parents said: "The family are grateful for the efforts of the Crown but a further guilty verdict in this case gives them no satisfaction and they remain numb and disbelieving that this could ever have happened to their beloved son.

"There is nothing that the sheriff could do in sentencing that would in anyway reflect the pain they feel or adequately address the senseless loss of Fox."

Since Fox's death the company has reviewed its policies and procedures, and provided additional training to all Scottish staff.