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A toddler tragically drowned in a garden bin after her mum was forced to leave her with a stranger to visit her sick baby in hospital.
Nigerian Mum-of-two, Balikis Adeoye has come out to speak of her heartbreak after losing her “beautiful and happy” two-year-old daughter Mazeedat.
The devastated parent told an inquest she “didn’t know or trust well enough” the people looking after her daughter when the horror unfolded on January 29, 2022. But, she felt forced to leave Mazeedat with them, in order to be with her three-month-old baby who was having heart surgery in hospital.
The little girl was tragically discovered at the property in Dagenham a few hours after an alarm was raised.
She was found in a bin which contained nine centimetres of water.
Balikis told an inquest at East London Coroner’s Court she asked for help from social services at Newham Council but claimed no one had tried to find a foster parent for her daughter.
She said: “I struggle to find the words to describe the heartbreak I feel over Mazeedat’s death.
“She was the most beautiful and happy little girl who brought sunshine to my life.
“Before her birth, I only knew how to love myself. When she was born Mazeedat was the best thing that had happened in my life.
“I’ll always keep Mazeedat close to my heart and will forever cherish the short but precious years we had together.
“I just hope that by speaking out other families facing the same situation don’t have to experience the same pain I will always live with.”
The inquest heard how Balikis moved to the UK from Nigeria in March 2021 and on September, her baby son, who is British, had been diagnosed with a hole in his heart.
Balikis had first been referred to Newham Council four months before Mazeedat’s death because she was living on sofas with no permanent home.
She told the inquest she requested a foster placement for her daughter, while she stayed with her son who was having heart surgery in hospital.
At the time Balikis was referred to social services, she was classified as an overstayer because she had separated from her UK partner and therefore couldn’t access public funds.
But the inquest heard social workers did not arrange a placement and advised the mum-of-two, who had no support network, to ask friends for help instead.
This meant Balikis was forced to leave Mazeedat with a carer she “didn’t know or trust well enough” in order to be with her son on January 25, 2022.
Balikis said: “At the time she died, Mazeedat was staying with people I didn’t know or trust well enough.
“However, I felt that I had no choice but to leave her in their care.
“Faced with the alternative of leaving my other child, a three-month-old baby alone in hospital to recover from heart surgery, this was no choice at all.”
The mum-of-two said she “consistently” pleaded for help but “none was arranged”.
The toddler was reported missing on January 29 and discovered in the garden a few hours later.
The inquest concluded that two-year-old Mazeedat died due to “gross failure” due to inadequate supervision in the garden, failures by those caring for Mazeedat and the council.
A post-mortem examination found her cause of death was drowning.
Coroner Graeme Irvine added: “Local authority child services failed to support Mazeedat’s family and put in place appropriate support for Mazeedat’s care.”
The coroner found if the “missed opportunity” to secure the two-year-old a foster placement had been taken, her death probably could have been avoided.
He told the inquest he now plans to write a prevention of future deaths report.
A spokesperson for Newham Council said: “We were devastated by Mazeedat’s tragic death. Our thoughts remain with her family and loved ones.
“After the terrible accident which led to her death in January 2022 we undertook an investigation into our role and since that time our social work practice and approach has been overhauled – a change, which has since been recognised by Ofsted who now rate our services as ‘Good’.