Romford MP Andrew Rosindell has backed a campaign for stricter pub safety laws launched by the family of Harvey Tyrrell.

The Harold Wood schoolboy died in September 2018 when an electric shock “flowed through his body” from a defective garden light at the King Harold pub in Station Road.

Installing electrician Colin Naylor and pub landlord David Bearman were sentenced to 12 months and nine years in prison respectively on April 15.

Mr Rosindell used an Early Day Motion in Parliament to back the thrust of a petition started by Harvey's mum Danielle Jones on May 7.

It has reached almost 50,000 signatures in less than a month, an achievement which has left Danielle "completely overwhelmed".

The MP's motion asserts the law governing this area is "not sufficient and contributed to Harvey's death", before demanding that new legislation requires every public house to provide "yearly certification that electrical works have been tested and inspected".

It adds that severe penalties - including the immediate loss of licence - should be imposed on any landlord who fails to comply with electrical safety standards.

This aligns with the campaign message of Harvey's family.

Pledging his support for the campaign, Mr Rosindell said: "The current regulations do require that records are kept and that installations are regularly tested and inspected.

"However, there aren’t strict monitoring standards to ensure that such tests and inspections are being done regularly and adequately. The King Harold pub hadn’t faced any checks since 2009.

"What is the point of such measures if no one is checking that they are being completed? The law needs to change and I'm proud to give parliamentary support to Danielle, Harvey’s brave mum."

Danielle said: "Our beautiful seven-year-old son Harvey’s death was completely avoidable. After listening to all the evidence, it is clear that change needs to happen with regards to electrical safety standards within public houses."

The mum-of-two believes the backing of Mr Rosindell "validates that so many people agree that this law needs to be implemented and passed".

"We will continue to drive this campaign forward to ensure that another innocent family doesn’t have to experience the pain and heartache we suffer," she added.

View the petition at https://www.change.org/p/government-make-pubs-safe-enforcement-of-electrical-inspections-testing-and-certification-of-pubs