Neighbours have claimed the mum of a toddler who tragically fell to his death from a Leeds tower block had asked the council twice to repair the window.
Locally named Exodus Eyob, one, fell from the seventh floor window of Saville Green on Saturday. His mum, locally named as Birikti Berihew, has been left 'in bits' after the tragedy according to friends.
One friend said that Birikti, 40, had called the council twice to ask them to fix a broken window in her three-bedroom flat - but it had not happened.
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Birikti's friend Yohana Tesfagaber, 32, said: “She’s very nice, she’s a good mum. I’ve just come back from her, she’s not good. She was sick yesterday, she’s been vomiting. She can’t keep any food down.
"I think the boy climbed onto a table and then has climbed onto the window. She’s called housing twice to ask them fix the latch on the window. She was making food for the baby and her daughter shouted that he had fallen.”
Yohana said the entire community is grieving for Exodus. She lives in the flat above Birikti.
“Its very sad. I saw him in hospital, it’s hit me very hard," she added. “His mum can’t eat, she can’t sleep.”
Birikti is understood to have been making food for her youngest when the tragic incident happened.
Wayne Watson, a cleaner, also lives in the same tower block, and explained that the windows are on a latch system that can be opened with slight pressure. He added that he's been waiting for window repairs for a few months.
Wayne, 42, said:“She’s a very nice lady, I’ve known her quite a while. I’ve done some decorating for her and she’s given me food before when I had nothing in.
“The windows have two latches on them, but they’re faulty. You put a tiny bit of pressure on them and they come off.”
Other neighbours told LeedsLive they had been left shaken after the tragedy, calling Birikti a good mum and paying tribute to her son.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of this incident, and we are working closely with our partners at West Yorkshire Police to establish the full circumstances surrounding this very tragic event.
“We're supporting the family with an urgent transfer into another council property, and we ask that people respect their privacy at what is a very difficult time for them.”
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