Police Scotland admit failings over death of young boy in fireball incident

Preston Flores died in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh following the incident in which his clothes were ignited as he played with petrol in the street near his home.

A year on from the incident, Police Scotland have apologised to the Flores family for a number of errors they made after the tragedy.

The family are now pressing ahead with a campaign for a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) to be opened to so they can find out what happened.

Preston’s father, Keith, 33, said: “We still do not have all the answers we need and continue to push for a fullscale public inquiry.”

He added: “We were victims too and were furious and disgusted by the way police treated us.

“We felt it would have been different if we came from a posh area.”

While the police did not concede every failing the family highlighted, it did make some admissions in a letter sent to the boy’s grandmother, Fiona Will.

DCI Iain Smith apologised to the family and acknowledged there were areas where officers “did not get it right”.

For example, the police issued a press statement confirming Preston’s death before all members of his family actually knew.

In addition, officers failed to fully clean the site of the fire, with family member’s saying they found burnt skin.

Mrs Will said: “The outcome is a small and partial victory but it is by no way enough.”