Police investigating housing association after man, 23, died in horror balcony fall at London flat

A corporate manslaughter investigation has been launched after a 23-year-old man died when balcony railings gave way at his London flat, an inquest hearing has heard

The death of a man who fell from a flat after balcony railings gave way is being investigated as corporate manslaughter by police, a pre-inquest review heard.

Joshua Robbins, 23, had ordered a takeaway pizza to his flat at Holland and Thurston Dwellings, in Holborn, central London, to share with his father and leant on the railings of his balcony to check on the delivery when they are said to have collapsed on January 29. Will Robbins, 49, watched his son fall to his death.

The Metropolitan Police is carrying out a corporate manslaughter investigation and Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association is complying with requests for material, a pre-inquest review heard on Tuesday.

The force is liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service, St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard.

Detective Inspector Mark Paterson said the scene of Mr Robbins’s death was examined at the time and a forensic engineer attended, and CCTV has been obtained.

DI Paterson said: “It’s an ongoing investigation, a lot of the material is held by ISHA who are fully compliant with requests that are being made at this stage.”

He said he hoped to provide the court with an update on the investigation by January, and senior coroner Mary Hassell scheduled another pre-inquest review for January 6 2027.

Fiona Garrett, Joshua’s mother, previously said she is fronting the fight for answers as her ex-husband is “extremely traumatised”.

The 46-year-old, who lives in Claudy, Co Londonderry, but is originally from Essex, sent an email to her son’s local MP, the former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, requesting a meeting as part of her campaign for justice.

She told the Press Association previously: “They came back straight away and they were like ‘we want to help’ and they’re asking for information and stuff so that’s good.

“It did bring comfort actually. I thought ‘oh well, if I get a reply it would just be your bog standard, written by someone else (response) and he just won’t even know that it’s gone out’, but the fact that he wrote it so he actually signed it himself at the bottom and wrote a little bit extra, it did seem really genuine.

“When I showed Will, he was just like ‘oh my god the prime minister knows who our son was’.

“I said I’d even write to the King if I had to. The point is that he did matter, and he does matter, and everyone’s child should matter.”

His mum previously paid tribute to her son – she told MyLondon: “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.”

A Met Police spokesperson said: “At this time our investigation remains ongoing, and we continue to liaise with the Crown Prosecution Service while enquiries continue.

“These enquiries can take some time given the nature of the investigation and complexities.

“Joshua’s family continue to be updated as the investigation continues and remain supported by specialist officers.”