21 January 2023 , 13:30
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A schoolboy died after falling through a moss-covered skylight at a warehouse, whilst his distraught friends looked on, an inquest heard.
Jethro Middleton, 13, was with two friends when they scaled the roof as "it was scary and it was fun".
However the roof tiles were delicate and caked in moss, so Jethro - who was known to his friends as Jet - fell onto the concrete floor underneath.
The teenager died from head injuries, whilst his devastated family rushed to be close by his side.
An inquest at Exeter Coroner's Court heard that one afternoon in April 2022, Jet and his pals had accessed the roof of the warehouse on an industrial estate in Okehampton, Devon.
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Jethro Middleton, 13, plunged to his death through moss-covered skylight at a warehouse on the North Road estate, Okehampton (ITV News)Senior Devon coroner Philip Spinney said: "Whilst running across the roof area, a section of the roof broke and he fell through the roof to the concrete floor some 30-40 feet below.
"Despite the efforts of police and paramedics he was pronounced deceased at the scene."
The two friends cannot be named but said they were with a group of half a dozen young people.
The teenagers were mucking about in containers next to the factory, known as the cheesecake, but were bored.
Then they climbed a shed to reach scaffolding which was set in place for roof repairs at the warehouse.
Jet noticed people and trucks working at the warehouse and walked back across the roof.
It's thought the teenager may have been looking at his phone at the time, as he stepped on plastic roof panels which were caked in moss.
His friend said he could not distinguish the difference between the panels and the roof, due to the moss.
As Jet ran along the skylight he fell, and the other boy recalled hearing a "crack".
When the two boys who had accompanied him peered through the gap - with one almost falling in himself - they saw Jet on the ground.
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The teen said they did see warning signs after the incident but would not have paid attention to them - with one of the boys saying: "We just did it because it was scary and it was fun."
The other youngsters let the company know what had happened and staff called emergency services.
A worker at the transport and distribution depot said the warehouse would normally have been packed with stock which might have stopped Jet's fall into the concrete ground.
A post-mortem revealed Jet, who was a keen rugby player for Okehampton RFC, died from an unsurvivable head injury.
A Health and Safety investigation said work was being carried out on the fragile and leaking roof which the boys gained access to through a shed to the scaffolding which reached the top of the large warehouse.
The coroner recorded the death as accidental and called it "tragic".