The family of a schoolboy who died in Harold Wood is campaigning for stricter pub safety laws.

Harvey Tyrrell died in September 2018 when an electric shock “flowed through his body” as he grasped a metal railing while sitting on a defective garden light at the King Harold pub in Station Road.

A trial heard that installing electrician Colin Naylor turned a blind eye to already-clear dangers and pub landlord David Bearman risked the venue's safety by not ensuring the correct works had been carried out.

Bearman was sentenced to nine years in prison and Naylor for 12 months on April 15.

Less than a month later and Harvey's mum Danielle Jones is determined to effect a permanent change.

She has launched a petition - which was at 8,581 signatures at about 6.30pm - seeking to ensure negligence is caught before tragedy strikes.

On the petition page, she writes: "We want to campaign that every public house should have to provide yearly certification that the electrical works have been tested and inspected.

"The fee for the inspection should be added onto the licence fee. Failure to comply with this and the landlord's insurance and licence should be made void and a fine should be issued."

She says the law governing this area - the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 - makes keeping inspection records mandatory, but does not enforce strict monitoring standards.

This means while maintaining electrical safety is a legal requirement, Danielle believes there is nobody punishing non-compliance.

Danielle wants to change that: "The King Harold has had no checks since 2009. The local authorities and licensing departments should be in control of enforcing this and monitoring their local public houses."

She feels her son's death was "completely avoidable", and if yearly certification had been required prior to Harvey's death, the pub's dangerous state may have been flagged earlier.

"We can’t bring our beautiful baby boy back but we can help save the lives of others by making sure public houses are a safe place to dine and drink," she adds.

To sign the petition, visit change.org/p/government-make-pubs-safe-enforcement-of-electrical-inspections-testing-and-certification-of-pubs