Mexborough and Swinton Times, October 13th 1899
A Denaby Burning Case.
A child named Walter Goldspink, who lived with his parents in Sprotborough Street, Denaby, set fire to his night clothing on the 19th of September, and was so seriously injured that it was deemed advisable to send him to the Montagu Cottage Hospital, Mexborough, where, despite every care and attention, he died on Monday night.
The inquest was held at the hospital on Tuesday afternoon by Mr. D. Wightman, the district coroner. Mr. Herbert Tyas was foreman of the jury.
Mary Goldspink, wife of Charles Henry Goldspink, said he husband was a coal miner, and they lived at Denaby. She was the mother of the deceased, who was three years of age.
On the nineteenth of September the boy went downstairs at between half-past eight and half-past nine. She did not send the boy down. The fire in the kitchen was kept alight all night. There was no one else downstairs when the boy went down. There were two other children but they were younger than the deceased, and they kept upstairs.
She heard a scream, which awakened her, and she went with her husband to see what was the matter. The deceased was in his night clothing. When the witness saw him the night clothing was on fire, and her husband was putting it out. She called a surgeon in at once, and he ordered that the child should be taken to the Montagu Cottage Hospital at once, where he died at 11-15 p.m. on Monday.
The child could not talk very well, and never while he was ill told her how he got on fire. She fond pieces of burnt paper on the kitchen floor. The child had not been in the habit of playing with fire.
No further evidence was considered necessary, and the jury returned a verdict of ” Accidental death.”