A boy who was thrown from the viewing balcony at the Tate Modern art gallery in London has finally left the hospital, his family has announced. The child, who was six at the time, suffered life-changing injuries in the attack by then-teenager Jonty Bravery on August 4, 2019. On holiday to London from France with his parents, the child survived the 100ft fall but sustained a bleed on the brain and multiple broken bones.
Seven years on, his family, who affectionately call him “notre petit chevalier” (our little knight), confirmed that he has returned to school ahead of the summer holidays.
Family update
In an update on their GoFundMe page, the family said: “We wanted to let you know that our little knight has finally left the hospital! His hospital stay was kept as short as possible because, despite our daily presence and encouragement, our son was becoming deeply disheartened and kept asking when he could go back to class and see his friends.”
“It was a great joy for him to return to school shortly before the summer holidays; since the lessons were well-tailored to his needs and challenges, he was able to start learning again, and reuniting with his teachers and classmates put a smile back on his face.”
Recovery journey
The boy’s recovery had taken “a sad step backwards” earlier this year in April, but the newest message confirms that he is now back on the mend. The GoFundMe page was set up by nurse Vicky Diplacto, from Surrey, whose own brother was paralysed in an incident overseas. The crowdfunding initiative, which aims to cover the medical costs of the injured French boy’s family, has so far raised more than £500,000.
The boy continues to undergo intensive rehabilitation, including physiotherapy, speech therapy and neuropsychology. To celebrate the end of his hospital treatment, his family are treating him to a tandem paragliding flight and a seaside getaway with friends. He also plans to resume his adaptive swimming lessons along with maths tutoring to catch up on the school he has missed.
Attacker's sentence
Bravery, now 24, was in supported accommodation at the time of the attack but allowed out unsupervised. He intended to select and kill someone, a court was later told. Bravery, who was 17 at the time, 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.
