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A heartbroken mother whose son collapsed during a football match said Nottingham City Council “has done nothing” to address concerns surrounding his death. Bridget Akwasi spoke during an inquest into the death of her 13-year-old son.

Samuel Akwasi was playing for FC Cavaliers U13s against WBCY FC Rossoneri when he suffered cardiac arrest at the Forest Recreation Ground on May 7 of last year. Two parents tried to save him with mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions.

But concerns have been raised about a possible delay caused while trying to locate life-saving defibrillators. Giving evidence during the second day of the inquest on Thursday March 23, Edward Curry from Nottingham City Council said there were two defibrillators inside the cafe in the park and in the sports area, located 100 meters and 220 meters away respectively.

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Mr Curry, who is the authority’s Head of Green Spaces and Natural Environment, told the hearing that the reason for keeping them inside was to protect them from “vandalism”. However, he said they will be removed and replaced with new defibrillators outside.

Coroner Dr. Elizabeth Didcock has noted that the automated external defibrillators (AEDs) “were only granted six weeks before the hearing.” She asked Mr. Curry under oath if he was sure that the defibrillator inside the cafe is checked weekly.

He added: “I am concerned that we are many months in and there has been limited progress.” Proceeding to ask questions after Mr. Curry’s statement, Ms. Akwasi said: “Thank you very much for her time.

“It’s breaking my heart as a mother because it’s been over ten months and Nottingham City Council hasn’t done anything.

“I think there is a form of negligence and what happened to us is taken for granted. There has been no condolences from the council for us. And I worry about why that is.”

Concerns were also raised by Samuel’s manager Everton Richards, who said the pavilion at Forest Recreation Ground was closed, despite renting the space for the match. He said he had to use his own nets which he keeps in the back of the car and no staff were on the ground.

He also stated that he had not received any condolences from the City Council and said that 250 other children were also affected by the loss of Samuel. Richards continued: “It just shows you that you’re not respected.”

Devastated father Tubman Akwasi also expressed his thoughts during the hearing, adding: “I think there is a lot of confusion in this process, and who is responsible for what. My question is: who is responsible for this?”

Also addressing concerns raised about ambulance access to the Forest Recreation Field grounds, Curry said that “the topography of the park is pretty dramatic.” He told the inquiry: “There are always some corners of the park that are vulnerable.”

Curry said the council is looking to improve ambulance access. He said they will share a code with the ambulance service for the bollard at Forest Recreation Ground, however a witness from the East Midlands Ambulance Service said this is something that should be discussed further as it “might make things more difficult”.

Dr Didcock is expected to present her conclusion on Friday afternoon 24 March at Nottingham Council House. She added: “I’ll think about what I’ve heard.

“I will have some comments on ambulance access. I had some concerns about the speed of Nottingham City Council’s response to this.”

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