Boy thrown from Tate Modern balcony visits home for first time, family say

A young boy who fell 100 feet after being thrown from a viewing platform at the Tate Modern gallery has returned home for the first time since the attack, his family have said.

The French child, who cannot be named because of his age, has spent months in intensive care since the incident last August, which took place when he was just six years old.

He was transferred to a hospital in his native France after suffering spine fractures and a bleed to the brain, and doctors said in June that he would require 24/7 care until at least 2022.

Now his family say their “little knight” has returned home for the first time, albeit “just for the weekend”.

“He was super happy to see his house and his toys again, even though he couldn’t go upstairs to see his room,” his family told the founder of a GoFundMe page, which has so far raised more than €270,000 (£245,000) for his medical care.

The family also said that their child had enjoyed his first holiday since the attempt on his life by 18-year-old Jonty Bravery.

“We took him to the sea and he was able to build sand castles with a friend on the beach,” they were quoted as saying on the fundraising page.

“He stays seated in one place, and we bring him what he needs to build. He couldn’t swim, of course, mainly because he still can’t move around without his splints.

They added: “Of course, he also continues his progress. He still spends most of his day in a wheelchair and still cannot walk on his own, but when we give him our hand, we don’t need to carry his weight anymore like before: it is mostly about helping him to find his balance.

“He can walk a few meters like that. He now also manages to climb one or two steps, always with our help.

“In addition, his breath and memory have improved enough that he has begun to try singing, and to learn to read, little by little.”

Thanking well-wishers and those who had donated money, they added: “We are most often overwhelmed, and especially more and more tired, but we try to keep you informed as regularly as possible of our child’s progress.

“Rest assured that your help and your messages are helping us to hold on. We are deeply grateful to you.”

Bravery was sentenced in June to at least 15 years and possibly life in prison for the attempted murder.

The horror and fear felt by the young victim and his parents, who were standing nearby at the time, were “beyond imagination”, a judge said.

“You choose a small child because of his vulnerability,” Ms Justice McGowan said. “You had intended to kill someone that day – you almost killed that six-year-old boy.”

She said Bravery’s autism and personality disorder did not explain the attack, and that expert evidence indicated he presents “a grave and immediate danger to the public”.

In a victim impact statement heard at the Old Bailey, the parents said they had not felt able to leave their son’s side for more than a couple of hours because they are “so scared of losing him”.