Heartbroken mother of Joshua Robbins pays tribute to ‘forever child’
The heartbroken parents of Joshua Robbins remembered his ‘kindness’ and ‘quiet goodness’ as they prepared to lay him to rest on Friday.
The young Claudy man died after falling from a five-storey balcony in London last month.
Joshua’s mother Fiona Garrett paid tribute as she and his father Will Robbins prepared to ‘lay our beautiful boy to rest’.
“My son. My heart. My forever child. Twenty-three years was never enough. Not for his kindness, his gentle soul, his quiet goodness. I don’t know how a world keeps turning when yours stops. I carry you with me always, Josh,” wrote Fiona in a poignant tribute as she prepared for her son’s cremation.
The 23-year-old died suddenly on January 29 at the home he shared with his father in Holland and Thurston Dwellings in Holborn.
Joshua’s family are campaigning for answers around the circumstances of his death, which is currently under formal investigation.
They believe he fell to his death after a balcony railing in the apartment block where he lived collapsed.
A fundraising page established to secure legal representation for his family as they seek answers has raised close to £3,000.
"Josh was deeply loved. He was gentle, kind, and quietly thoughtful — the sort of young man who made people feel valued in his company. He had plans and hopes for the future. Our lives have been irrevocably changed by his death.
"Securing appropriate legal representation and independent expert input is essential to ensure that Josh’s death is fully and properly examined, and that our family’s interests are represented.
"These steps carry costs that are frequently beyond the reach of bereaved families. This fundraiser has been created to help us meet those necessary costs and to manage the financial impact Josh’s death has had on us as his parents,” the page states.
Following his death last month Pippa Fleetwood-Read, Chief Executive at Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association (ISHA), the Holland and Thurston Dwellings landlord, said: “The death of Joshua Robbins is deeply saddening, and everyone at ISHA sends our sincere condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.
“We are fully cooperating with the police and their investigation, but at this early stage it would be inappropriate to comment further until the full facts surrounding the incident have been established.”