Last photo of 2-year-old boy before he was killed by falling chimney | Liverpool Echo

Carter Walsh was dancing with his cousin in the living room when the marble fireplace collapsed

This is the heartbreaking final photograph of a toddler, taken just minutes before he died when a chimney fell on him in his parents' home. Pictured is two-year-old Carter Walsh meeting a family friend's horse during a day out with his relatives.

Less than half an hour later, a marble fireplace collapsed on him as he was dancing with his cousin in the living room of his family home in Wigan. He suffered a head injury in the tragic accident and was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

His heartbroken mother Samantha Walsh, 38, spoke for the first time today (Friday) about her son: “He was my best friend. He was very popular, not just with his family but with everyone who met him. He broke the heart of everyone he met… He was the apple of our eye.”

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Carter's aunt Natalie Prescott, 35, said he went to a meat restaurant for lunch on Wednesday with her mother, sister and daughter Saskia Prescott, 16. And he had the “best day ever” when he got to visit her mother's horses – photos show him looking up at one of them.

Carter was then driven back to his house in Wigan, where Saskia played with him for around 20 minutes while Samantha was away. But as they danced in the living room, disaster struck when the marble fireplace collapsed – after its lower section “broke” – and fell on him.

Natalie said: “The chimney collapsed in the middle. It gave way and just collapsed and pushed forward. It was a marble chimney.” Saskia and the landlord of the property, who was at the address at the time to repair a boiler, called an ambulance and immediately tried to resuscitate Carter.

And Samantha, a mother of four, found out about the incident just moments later when Saskia called her to say there had been an accident. Samantha said: “She was very calm at first and just said: 'You have to come home, Carter has hit his head.'”

“I don't know if she did that to calm me down. I was waiting for a taxi and I was on my way home, and then I just kept calling her. And every time I called her, I knew it was serious. She was panicking because she knew I was on my way back.”

“I called my mom. She came and picked me up. And when I got there, the ambulance and the police were still dealing with him. They let me see him and then said, 'Okay, we have to take him to the hospital.'”

Samantha said her mother, who is a nurse, warned them to prepare for the worst after they found out Carter would not be taken to hospital by helicopter. She added: “They said, 'We're going to Wigan. [hospital].' Then I knew nothing had happened… because they had cancelled the rescue helicopter. My mother is a nurse at the hospital, so she knew too. She just said, 'Be prepared when you get to the hospital.'”

Devastated Samantha said when she saw Carter on the ward he looked “peaceful” and there were no signs he had suffered a life-threatening injury. She said: “It was just a head injury. But he just looked so peaceful… He didn't have any bruising or anything on his face.”

“The cut was covered. There were no visible injuries. He was examined several times in the hospital. They said he was healthy. [prior to the accident]. Everything was fine.”

Samantha said Carter was briefly cared for by foster parents after he was born before she took full responsibility for him, and now that the little boy has died, she's struggling to cope with her life.

Samantha said: “I had to fight to get him out of foster care. I did that, I got him back and I've spent every day with him since then. He's obviously been with me for nearly two years now.”

“He was my best friend. I was back home. I couldn't stay there. I went to my sisters. I went back yesterday to clean up, of course, because there was blood.”

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said yesterday that they were assisting Samantha and her family. They said: “On Wednesday 18 September, at around 2.15pm, officers were called to an incident involving the welfare of a child in Fisher Close, Wigan.”

“Despite all the efforts of the paramedics, a two-year-old boy unfortunately later died in hospital. The investigation is ongoing and the officers are currently supporting the family.”

A North West Ambulance Service spokesman added: “We rushed to an incident at a private address at 2.06pm after calling 999. An ambulance, rescue helicopter, emergency vehicle and paramedic attended the scene. One patient was taken to hospital by road.”