The mother of a teenager killed in a freak bike accident spoke today of the trauma of missing her son's inquest.

Irene Cannon, of Prospect Close, Southend, travelled up to London to hear the coroner's verdict on Keith's death - but were given wrong directions.

She ended up driving around the capital for three hours looking for St Pancras coroner's court before giving up and going home.

She said: "I wanted to be there to hear the verdict but it was very distressing to have to drive home and wait three hours for the result."

Keith, who was 13 at the time of his death, was killed after he fell off his bike, suffering a fatal wound in his eye.

Although the accident happened at Queensway, at the junction of York Road, Keith was taken to Great Ormond Street hospital for specialist care. He died a week later from a brain injury caused by the eye injury.

Mrs Cannon, who has three other children, added: "Some of the things that were reported on the inquest were news to me. It said that he had no brakes on his bike. It did have brakes but they didn't work very well.

"I had been told before that he had blacked out before he fell off but it was said in the coroner's court that he was doing wheelies before he fell off."

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