Jamie And Carly Dunbar Detail Joshua's Death On Birthday

jamie and carly dunbar spoke publicly on Tuesday's 20 May 2024 episode of This Morning about the death of their 8-year-old son Joshua, who died on 27 April 2024 at his home in Birkenhead after a helium balloon was found over his head. Their account put the focus on what happened in the bedroom before paramedics worked on him in the house and the air ambulance came.

Joshua's Eighth Birthday

Carly said Joshua went upstairs with the balloon and was later sat on his bed watching TV. She said, "He (Joshua) went upstairs and took the balloon with him. I came up after him and went and had a little chat with him, he was just sat up on his bed with the balloon, watching the TV - nice and calm."

She also said, "I told him his dad (Jamie's dad) would be up and going to put all his presents away. And then his dad came up, literally minutes later..." Jamie said he found Joshua lying down with the balloon over his head and had to pull it away. "I said bye to my dad at night and then came up and found him. At first, I'd seen the balloon, half-deflated," he said.

Birkenhead Home

Jamie said, "It took me a split second to realise Joshua was lying down with the balloon over his head, so I had to get him off his bed and physically ripped the balloon off him." Carly said she ran outside screaming at neighbours for help after seeing him lifeless in the bedroom.

A post-mortem examination found that Joshua's death was consistent with asphyxia involving a helium balloon. The family described the death as the most tragic of accidents, and the case has now become the basis for a public campaign they are leading.

Ban On Helium Balloons

Carly and Jamie are spearheading a campaign to ban the sale of helium balloons. Jamie said, "We want to get it out there. The message, the awareness." He added, "Even if that doesn't happen, just to make people aware that the danger is often because we never know. It'd always put balloons or other children's birthdays before."

For families who buy balloons for birthdays, the Dunbars are pushing for a change in what is sold, while also trying to warn others about a danger they say many people do not recognize. Their appearance on This Morning on 20 May 2024 turned Joshua's death into a public warning carried by his parents themselves.