The grieving parents of tragic fireball youngster Preston Flores learned there would not be a fatal accident inquiry into the accident in a TV report.
Keith Will, 33, and partner Luisza Flores, 34, claim a letter from the Procurator Fiscal did not arrive until the morning after TV bulletins broke the news.
The family desperately hoped there would be an official probe to help them get to the truth of what happened to their son.
Preston, seven, was badly burned in an incident in Aberdeen in April last year which was believed to have involved petrol.
Last night a furious Keith, from Powis, Aberdeen, claimed: “We are disgusted. It is bad enough the authorities are failing to hold an inquiry into how our precious wee boy came to be set on fire on a public street, but for us to find out about it on television is nothing short of shocking.
“We are sickened by the way we have been treated.”
The Sunday Post previously revealed Police Scotland had admitted a catalogue of blunders in their handling of the family including revealing Preston’s death to media outlets before all relatives had been informed.
Keith claimed: “Luisza got a phone call from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal’s Service asking if she had received a letter about the FAI.
“She said she hadn’t and wanted to know what it was about, but the caller said they couldn’t discuss it over the phone.
“Then that same day I got a phone call from my mum who said my dad had just seen on the TV news that there was to be no Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into Preston’s death.”
Preston’s grandmother Fiona Will added: “I almost collapsed. I broke down in tears. I phoned Keith and he couldn’t take it in.
“Whoever phoned them should have called back to make sure the letter had arrived before putting the decision in the public domain.”
The Crown Office has confirmed it is satisfied the circumstances of Preston’s death had been established and there was no need for a further probe.
The incident is understood to have involved a petrol can left in the back of a council van in the city’s Bedford Avenue.
Preston died as a result of his injuries in hospital in Edinburgh just days before his eighth birthday. Witnesses said Preston had been playing on top of the vehicle with other children before the tragic incident.
Keith said: “We are in shock. We still want to know how our son died. We know he had petrol all over him, but the police and Crown Office have not said how it got there and how it came to be lit.
“We only know what Preston himself told us before he died and the police have not listened to that. We know he did not set himself on fire.”
He is now seeking advice on appealing the decision and added: “We just want the truth. We will go to every higher power possible.”
North-east MSP Richard Baker has described the Crown’s decision as ‘disappointing’. He said: “Given the fact there has been a tragic loss of life there is a strong need for an FAI.”
A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “Following careful consideration, independent Crown Counsel are satisfied
the cause of the death has been established and have decided not to hold an FAI.
“The family have been advised of the decision.”
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