Bradford teen dies in accident after falling into garden greenhouse

An inquest at Bradford Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday that Mohammed Qais Ratyal, 17, was injured after a shard of glass from a greenhouse punctured his chest when he fell into the garden of a house in Halifax. He died later in hospital.

In his conclusion to determine the cause of death, assistant coroner Ian Pears said: "This was an accident which occurred on November 5, 2022. Mohammed Qais Ratyal was garden hopping and during this endeavour, he fell into a greenhouse and glass punctured his chest. I record this as an accidental death."

The teen was part of a group that travelled from Bradford to Halifax on November 5, last year, and who were seen in Vickerman Street.

The inquest heard people were seen “garden hopping” on Vickerman Street that night.

A witness statement from Qais' cousin, Ummat Ratyan, revealed that the pair were part of a group of 10 to 15 people.

Ummat said: "There were around 200 people firing rockets into the street. We had rockets too. 

"I was wearing a balaclava. We put them on because we were scared the cameras would see us.

"We started running. I followed everyone. We jumped over a wall into allotments and then we jumped over garden fences. Qais led the group. Then I heard some shouting."

When he found Qais, Ummat said he was "sitting and leaning forwards, but Qais didn't speak and his body flopped and his hands were trembling. He tried to lift his head up but couldn't".

Bradford Coroners' Court (Image: Newsquest)

In another witness statement, the inquest heard from Vickerman Street householder Aleksandra Gizewska who said: "I saw people running down my driveway and then when I opened the door I heard a smash. I shouted at them to get out.

"I saw people go over a fence but some of them came back and said they had lost someone and wanted to check on him.

"We then found him laying in the garden next to a bench in a pool of blood.

"He was trying to catch his breath. My neighbour Kim found the wound and the ambulance service told us to press hard to stop the blood.

"Then the ambulance arrived, they brought out a stretcher and took him in."

Another witness, householder Kim McHale, said in a statement: "There was a group of males throwing fireworks at each other. I saw one boy go down my neighbour's drive.

"I came back inside and someone had jumped into my back garden.

"They were 'garden hopping' and I told them to get out.

"Then I saw a lad laying by the swing. He was unconscious and bleeding heavily. I got a towel and applied pressure.

"My neighbour told me he had fallen into a greenhouse."

Qais was taken by ambulance to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary but was pronounced dead from his injuries at 9.46pm on November 5.

In a post-mortem report read out at the inquest, Dr Christopher Johnson said: "After falling in the garden into the greenhouse, he was lying in a pool of blood with a sharp shard of glass in his chest.

"He was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where he died as a result of a stab wound in the chest.

"The shard of glass punctured the right side of his chest which caused a catastrophic haemorrhage. His right lung collapsed causing significant respiratory impairment.

"He died as a result of a stab wound but there were no other injuries to indicate he had been subject to an assault."

Detective Sergeant Andrew Ellis, of the Homicide Major Inquiry Team, also confirmed that there was no third-party involvement and said that Qais' death was a "tragic accident".

Detective Sgt Ellis, who said police were focused on disorder on Vickerman Street, Halifax, that night, established a timeline on the night and showed CCTV stills to the inquest.

He said a "group were discharging fireworks on Parkinson Lane near Vickerman Street.

"The group started to scale fences into the allotments.

"The CCTV captured a group of males jumping over a fence.

"You could hear a crash (into the greenhouse) and footage showed a figure (Qais) lying on the ground.

"It was a high fence. He wouldn't have known that the greenhouse was there."

In a witness statement read out at the inquest, his mum, Nargis Ijaz, said: "Qais was born on May 25, 2005, at Bradford Royal Infirmary. He was a happy healthy child who had an older brother and younger sister. 

"He played football for Sandy Lane and at his school, Dixons Trinity. His favourite players were Messi and Neymar.

"But boxing was his true love. He boxed at local clubs and wanted to box when he was older.

"He liked gaming, going out with his cousins and loved designer clothing.

"This tragic accident has left our family devastated."