The parents of a nine-month-old baby who died after choking while at nursery have described their horror at almost losing their second son in a similar tragedy.
Lewis and Zoe Steeper lost their first son Oliver in September 2001 when he was just 9 months old - he began to struggle with breathing after he was given food at Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford, Kent. The family were devastated when he died six days later at the Evelina London Children's Hospital after suffering a heart attack.
Lewis and Zoe shared yesterday how they nearly lost their second son Jake to a similar tragedy but were able to save him using a LifeVac device. The airway clearing device saved Jake after his dad, 39, was forced to use it on him when the tot stopped breathing in December 2023. The 14-month-old woke up with a fever and Lewis used the device to clear his airway.
Lewis and Zoe made it their mission to distribute the LifeVac gadgets to nurseries after losing Oliver and now it has saved the life of their second son Jake who has since made a full recovery after medics diagnosed him with Covid. "It's the worst thing I've ever seen in my life, I just kept saying "I can't lose another child"," Lewis said.
Oliver Steeper died after he became unable to breathe while eating at nursery (Lewis Steeper / SWNS)The couple have raised almost £19,000 to get LifeVacs for nurseries through their Oliver Steeper Foundation. Lewis said this latest incident with Jake has just made their mission ‘even more purposeful’. “It’s almost like I’m taking Oli with me whenever I give a LifeVac out.," Lewis told the Sun. “He’s by my side all the time."
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Kent Police have shelved their investigations into the death of Oliver and the CPS have decided not to bring charges - but Lewis and Zoe have viewed to fight the decision. In a statement on the Oliver Steeper Foundation website the couple said: “Whilst the initial investigation concluded that the nursery's policies and procedures were 'of poor quality and inconsistent' no accountability for our son's tragic and avoidable death will prevail at this moment in time.
“We are hugely disappointed and shocked at the initial decision, but we are far from deterred. We have now instructed specialist solicitors Leigh Day, who have lodged our appeal with the Crown Prosecution Service. We will leave no stone unturned as we feel that many key aspects of what happened on that day have been missed or ignored by the CPS.”
Jelly Beans Day Nursery closed after the tragedy with Ofstead inspectors suspending its registration over "serious safeguarding issues". The Steeper family said they were also disappointed in the way Ofsted had handled the case. An inquest into Oliver's death gave the cause as a brain injury and heart attack, but was put on hold pending the outcome of investigations.
As well as hanging out the LifeVac kits Zoe and Lewis have been campaigning against suggested government plans to decrease the ratio of nursery workers to children in a bid to make childcare cheaper. Their petition has gathered more than 109,000 signatures. Announcing their pregnancy with Jake in October 2022, Surveyor Lewis, 37, said: "Oliver was our first, and honestly the best baby you could ever have wished for... he was just perfect.
"It's a strange feeling, knowing the new baby will probably look and sound the same as Oli. We are just happy we have been given another chance."
And speaking of their bid to prevent changes that would see nursery staff looking after more kids, Lewis added: "After losing Oliver in an early years setting, we feel it's our duty now to protect other children from people who are trying to overhaul the sector. These are members of parliament who will never put their own children into a local nursery because of their wealth and privileges; who simply don't live in the real world with the rest of us and don't bat an eyelid at the cost of childcare."
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