'Sad step backwards' in recovery for Tate fall boy

The family of a boy thrown from the 10th-storey balcony of the Tate Modern art gallery say they feel as if his recovery has taken a "sad step backward".

The French youngster was six when he was badly hurt in an attack by then-teenager Jonty Bravery at the central London attraction in August 2019.

The child, who was on holiday with his parents, survived a 100ft (30m) fall but suffered life-changing injuries, including a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones.

In an update posted on a fundraising page, his family said his rehabilitation was "proving longer and more difficult than expected" following a surgery in January.

"He is still hospitalised in a rehabilitation centre because he is still unable to walk," they said.

"He has only been able to have weekend leave for the past three weeks, in a wheelchair, which frustrates him greatly: it feels like a sad step backward."

In their last update in October, the family described how the boy had achieved his "long set" goal of being able to run, jump and swim again.

They said: "He can't do it like other children his age, of course, but we can no longer describe what he does in any other way than by saying it's running, jumping, and swimming."

In their most recent post, they said: "He is eager to be able to walk again and resume a normal life outside the rehabilitation centre, even if this normal life means spending half his time in treatment and only the other half at school."

The family said he was especially keen to get out of hospital because they had "finally" found a school "perfectly suited to his needs", which he was able to try out before his operation.

"In a very short time, he made new friends who have stayed in touch despite his extended absence," they said.

The family said they did not know how much longer his hospitalisation would have to continue, adding: "Our little knight, as courageous as ever, continues to fight and train, and we will remain by his side to support him no matter what."

Bravery, now 24, who is autistic, was in supported accommodation at the time of the attack but had been allowed out unsupervised.

He intended to select and kill someone, a court was later told.

Aged 17 at the time, he pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years.

He was back in court earlier this year, as he was jailed for 16 weeks after he was found guilty of assaulting two nurses at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, in September 2024.

In 2020, he was given a 14-week jail sentence after admitting to attacking staff at the same hospital.

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