Boy, two, died after consuming plant food he mistook for drink

Professor Paul Marks said he was considering making calls for changes to the packaging of pH Up, which Aaron Booth thought was a bottle of Fruit Shoot.

An inquest heard the plant food was being used to grow cannabis at Aaron’s home in Huddersfield, but had been left on a window sill next to some crisps within his reach.

He helped himself to the substance having been left without food or water since the previous day by his mother, Lauren Booth., 25.

The liquid caused the horrific internal burns which later killed him.

Booth, who was convicted of wilful neglect over the tragedy, refused to co-operate with the inquest in Huddersfield.

Prof Marks said he was considering a recommendation for the pH Up bottle design to be changed because it looked similar to the popular children’s drink.

He said: “I am extremely concerned the packaging of plant fertiliser resembles a soft drink enjoyed by children.

“Toxic domestic chemicals must be kept out of the reach of children at all times.

“This accident could and should have been avoided by the appropriate storage of the chemicals.”

Huddersfield Coroner’s Court heard how the youngster drank the plant food – a mixture of potassium hydroxide and water – after it was left on a window ledge outside his bedroom.

Booth was still in bed at 12.45pm with her partner Sean Williams when she heard a thud and got up to find her son struggling for breath and with blue froth coming from his mouth.

Aaron, who had drunk around 10ml of the liquid, was rushed to hospital and transferred to intensive care but died 11 days later in November 2010.

The inquest heard how the powerful chemical had caused extensive damage to his body, burning, among other things, his oral cavity, trachea, oesophagus, spleen and stomach.

Detective Sergeant Jane Taylor said Booth and her partner told her that Aaron liked to drink Fruit Shoots.

She added that there was some indication that cannabis cultivation was going on in the house.

The inquest heard that Aaron and his mother were known to several agencies as he was born prematurely and had both hearing and learning problems.

Kirklees Safeguarding Children Board carried out a serious case review following his death.

It found that social workers should have stepped in sooner when it was clear Booth was struggling around six months before his death.

But the review concluded that Aaron’s death “could not have been anticipated or prevented”.

Booth was convicted of neglect in May 2012 and was given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

The trial heard how Aaron hadn’t been fed since the day before and was “hungry and thirsty” when he got hold of the bottle while searching for something to drink.

Judge Colin Burn told Booth at the time: “It was a cataclysmic, single failure to act. Aaron was almost three, at an age where he was curious and everything was a challenge, therefore by failing to supervise him you allowed this terrible event to happen.

“I’m bound to say that Aaron’s death was a prolonged and frankly horrible one.

There is no other way to describe it. And it was preventable.”

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death contributed to by neglect.