THE ten-year-old boy who was tragically killed in a shopping accident on the first day of half term died after a queue barrier struck him in the head, an inquest heard today.

Kaden Reddick was sadly killed following an incident involving a piece of the shops furniture last week.

The massive high street chain his since removed all similar kinds of furniture within its stores.

"Cheeky" Kaden - as he was described by his family - was rushed to hospital but he was sadly declared dead when he arrived last Monday.

Members of his family were not present at the opening of his inquest today, but Detective Inspector Dave Turton of Thames Valley Police told the coroner: "Kaden attended the Topshop store in The Oracle in Reading.

"In the late afternoon he was there with his siblings, mum and grandma. At some point his mum was at the cash point making a transaction.

"Kaden was in the area and a display described as a queue barrier has fallen over and struck him in the head.

"The Arcadia group which owns Topshop has reacted quickly and identified in excess of 400 stores had the queue barriers. All the stores were closed until these barriers were removed.

Reading Chronicle:

Detective Inspector Dave Turton leaving the inquest today

Senior coroner for Berkshire Peter Bedford revealed Kaden's family were on a "much needed" break after the tragic death of their son, who was a Year 6 pupil at Garland Junior School in Burghfield Common.

They previously paid tribute to the ten year old, who lived in Burghfield, adding: "Kaden was a loving, cheeky, energetic boy whose death will leave a huge empty hole in the lives of everybody that knew him. Our house feels empty without him.

“Kaden loved family holidays, with swimming being his favourite pastime. He was always the first one in any pool or the sea. It didn’t matter how cold it was, he would jump in, trying to get everyone to join him.

“Kaden was a very creative boy, who loved school. He was going to be helping with making the props for the next school play, and he had set up his bedroom as a classroom to play with his siblings, labelling his room Strawberry class. He was also adventurous; loving to play outside on his bike, or with his friends in the woods."

It is so hard to comprehend he will never do these things," his family continued.

“Kaden will be forever remembered by us; with him looking down from the stars, and us looking up and smiling at all of our loving memories of him. He was much loved by all of his family and friends, and will be hugely missed by his siblings, and everyone else who was touched by his warmth and love.”

Mr Bedford adjourned the inquest pending an investigation involving Thames Valley Police Health and Safety Investigative and Reading Borough Council.

Topshop in Reading was closed for more than a week following Kaden's death but it re-opened this week.