A petition launched in honour of a schoolboy who died in Harold Wood has soared to over 40,000 signatures.

Harvey Tyrrell died in September 2018 when an electric shock “flowed through his body” as he grasped a metal railing which had been made dangerous by a defective garden light at the King Harold pub in Station Road.

On May 7, Harvey's mum Danielle Jones launched a petition to demand stricter pub safety laws.

In just one day it had already reached 2,000-plus signatures; by May 10 that number had risen to 3,000.

The Recorder first published an article on the petition on May 11, reporting on the fact it had amassed more than 8,500 signatures at around 6.30pm.

Just under two hours later and that number had soared to over 23,000.

Another huge increase came overnight, as the numbers pledging support approached 40,000.

It's a total that has kept climbing; as of 2pm on May 12, 40,532 people have signed the petition.

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.

She argues this must change: "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."

Referencing the fact that the King Harold pub had not faced any checks since 2009, the mum-of-two believes this responsibility should fall to local authorities and licensing departments.

Had such requirements been in place prior to 2018, the pub's dangerous state may have been flagged earlier, and Harvey's "completely avoidable" death prevented.

David Bearman and Colin Naylor, the King Harold landlord and installing electrician respectively, are currently serving prison sentences for their role in the schoolboy's death.