A “dangerous”cot linked to a baby’s death was found for sale in a charity shop.

Earlier this year we reported on the horrible death of Little Grace Roseman who died last year, after being put down for a nap in a second hand Bednest crib.

The seven-week-old was later found with her neck resting on the partially lowered crib side, reports The Mirror.

The Coroner ruled Grace’s provisional cause of death as asphyxia and a full inquest is expected later this year.

Tests revealed unmodified cribs could pose a hazard as babies could move onto or over the side of the crib, when the it was folded in a half-raised position.

Since Grace’s death the manufacturer Bednest Ltd have urged customers to send off for modification kits, which prevent the sides from being partially lowered, removing the risk of suffocation.

But an unmodified and potentially dangerous version of the crib were found in an East Grinstead charity shop.

Bednest have maintained their cribs are not unsafe, but issued the modification as a precaution, accepting experts advice there was a small but plausible risk of death or injury.

A spokesperson from Bednest Ltd said: “Bednest made available a modification kit to address the concern raised by some experts in relation to the height of lowered side panels of bedside cribs.

“The modification kit has been made widely available and we welcome any efforts to widen the communication of its availability as well as the latest User Guide.

“This includes efforts in respect of second hand sales.

“Indeed Bednest has advised the Charity Retail Association of the availability of the modification kit and requested that they assist us in communicating to their many thousands of members.

“Anyone requiring a modification kit can find details of how to request one on the website www.bednest.com/FAQs and they can also download the latest User Guide.”

Mum speaks out

Update 5 December

Grace’s mother, Esther, has issued a warning to parents saying that isn’t good enough as people can buy second-hand cots which don’t have the modifications or all the instructions.

“On April 9, 2015, at 10.39am, our beautiful baby, Grace, who was just seven weeks old, was pronounced dead,” she told The Times.

“Immediately following Grace’s tragic death, as her mother, I felt nothing but guilt, self-blame, shame and judged. I felt tortured that I didn’t have the choice of ending my life because I could not be that selfish to my family.”

“When it first happened, I had some sympathy for Bednest, assuming it too would be mortified and remorseful.”

“Unfortunately, the company does not appear to believe that the design of the cot caused Grace’s death.”

She is begging anyone who uses the bassinet or who has one stored away to get rid of it.

“I urge any parent with one in their loft, with the original set of instructions, to throw the cot and instructions away,” She told The Times.

“In my opinion, the huge secondhand market for cots such as Bednest remains worrying and dangerous. Instructions and the modification kit will likely have been lost and many people will be unaware of the dangers.”

The cot has been recalled in the USA and Canada, but not in Australia or the UK.

UPDATE 15 December 2016

Esther fought back tears as she told an inquest how she found her seven-week-old daughter dead in her cot, reports Daily Mail.

Esther Roseman, 39, said she screamed ‘Grace is dead’ after finding her newborn daughter lifeless in the top-of-the-range BedNest cot at home in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, in April last year.

The second-hand cot, which stay-at-home mother Mrs Roseman described as a ‘time bomb’, has an adjustable side that can be lowered to allow parent and child to lie next to each other.

A report found the side had been lowered to 3in and that Grace’s head had become stuck on the edge, cutting off her air supply.

The coroner has issued a safety warning about the cot but it is still on sale in Britain.

The inquest heard the Rosemans were given the cot second-hand but without instructions or information on how high the adjustable side could be safely raised.

In the wake of the tragedy, a coroner issued a warning and urged the cot manufacturer to ‘take action to prevent future deaths’.

Speaking at the inquest in Horsham, West Sussex, Mrs Roseman described the moment she found Grace on the morning of April 9, 2015.

She said: ‘I found Grace with her head hanging over the side, facing upwards. Her head was on the side which was half-folded.

‘She was purple in colour. It was obvious she had been there some time – there was no sign of any life. I started screaming, ‘Grace is dead’.’

In April 2015, coroner Penelope Schofield issued a Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths concerning the cot.

The report stated that Grace was found with her head over the edge of the cot but because she could not lift her head back up this restricted her air supply which led to her death.

The cot had one side that could be lowered but the instructions state the baby should not be left alone in this position, it was heard.

The Regulation 28 report also stated that the crib was in a tilted position of 3in while the instructions state it should not be above 2in.

Mrs Roseman said: ‘I didn’t have those instructions, it’s a shame those instructions weren’t on the side of the cot.

‘It seemed the cot was designed with the half fold to stop the baby rolling out of it.

‘I didn’t see any risk, if I had known for one moment, in the room or out of the room she was capable of what she did, there’s no way I would have slept with that side half down.’

She added: ‘Every day since this happened I question why I didn’t see how unsafe it was, I comfort myself that the whole of NCT and BedNest didn’t see it either.’

When Mr Roseman was asked if he had concerns about the cot, he said: ‘There was no reason to have any concerns about it, it was just an innocuous object, it was a cot.’

Mrs Roseman added: ‘There a side which folds down half way, which was the way I was using it.

‘It could enable me to get her in and out without disturbing her so much. I never put it up.

‘It was set up like that and that was how I was using it. But when Grace started developing, it was becoming a time-bomb.

‘It was never up. I think it was always down. I didn’t seem like it was that high to me. ‘

In the April 2015 report, Ms Schofield wrote: “In my opinion, urgent action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you and/or your organisation should have the power to take such action.”

Safety checks

A couple of months ago we shared a story from Consumer Protection warning parents before using a cot to carry out simple safety checks. Older cots that do not meet these standards should not be used!

Before using a cot it is important to check for the below –
•Inspect for stability
•Ensure rails are intact
•No sharp edges
•Make sure Nuts and bolts are tight and that all mechanisms are in working order
•Check that the bars, panels, mattress base and drop sides are firmly attached.
•Then check the recommended measurements of the cot.
•Check there is no risk a child can NEVER become trapped.

More info here.

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Image via bednest