A five-year-old autistic girl drowned after she fell through an “unsafe” railing into the canal next to her Islington home.

Malika Hibu was pronounced dead at St Thomas’ Hospital on the evening of February 17, having been pulled from Regent’s Canal earlier that day.

An inquest into her death at St Pancras Coroner’s Court today (July 17) heard that she had been able to unlock the front door to her family’s home at Crest Buildings, Wharf Road, without her mother noticing.

CCTV footage showed that the little girl ran towards the City Road Basin, a canal offshoot which directly backs onto the Peabody housing association estate.

Malika could be seen poking her head through a metal barrier, which consists of just two horizontal bars around half a metre apart.

Shortly afterwards, a splash could be seen, as the five-year-old girl fell into the canal.

She was found face down in the water around 25 minutes later by a neighbour.

St Pancras Coroner Mary Hassell said that her medical cause of death was “drowning, with a contributory factor of autistic spectrum disorder”.

In her determination, she said that the railing to the canal “afforded no real protection against the water” for a small child.

She added: “The housing association did not risk assess the barrier, did not act on complaints by residents, and, after finally noticing the barrier was unsafe, did not make any appreciable attempt to make the area safer.”

Peabody has since built a temporary fence next to the canal by Crest Buildings, and has said a permanent solution will be put in place by March next year, subject to planning approval.

A spokesperson for the housing association said: “This was a heartbreaking and tragic accident, and our thoughts remain with Malika’s family and friends as they grieve their terrible loss.

"We’ll continue to support local residents and will consider all the points raised in the coroner’s report.”

More to follow…