AN open verdict has been recorded on a severely disabled 10-year-old boy who was found dead in his bed by his mother at his Royton home last summer.

Doctors including pathologist Dr Gauri Batra were unable to establish the cause of Alex Philip Lorenzelli, who suffered from spastic quadriplegia, curvature of the spine and learning difficulties.

Det Insp Ian Harratt who went to Alex’s home in Coverdale Avenue on August 16 said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his passing.

Alex’s parents Paul Lorenzelli and Kimberley Overton told the inquest hearing how Alex had been a “contented baby” but issues arose after he had first immunisation injections and continued after the second round of jabs.

“After the second immunisations there was a change in him and we mentioned it to the doctor,” said Mr Lorenzelli.

“From then on there were issues with him sleeping and his development. When he was nine months old it was quite clear he was not progressing.”

By the time he was 10 he was attending Kingfisher special school in Chadderton.

Three weeks before he died, Alex had been quite poorly, visiting the doctor and the hospital on several occasions.

He was unable to keep food down and was sent home from school with a high temperature and was being sick.

On the evening before he died he was put to bed by Kimberley at 10pm. She put him on his side and a pillow behind him to stop him rolling. But in the morning when she went in to see him he had gone over on to his front and he had stopped breathing.

She took him on to the landing and carried out CPR, but he was pronounced dead shortly after the arrival of paramedics minutes later.

Assistant coroner Michael Salt said the “much-loved” little boy suffered with numerous physical and mental difficulties, including scoliosis (curvature of the spine) seizures and breathing difficulties.

But he went on to say the issue of whether the immunisations were a factor were “beyond the remit of this inquest”.

“What followed on from there was a huge amount of love and care,” he said, ruling that the cause of death was “unascertained” and an open conclusion.