The grandson of football manager and Manchester United legend Steve Bruce died after being placed in an “unsafe sleeping position” by an unregulated maternity nurse, an inquest has heard. Four-month-old Madison Bruce Smith was found unresponsive by his father, former Leeds United and Fulham striker Matt Smith, on the morning of October 18 2024. He could not be resuscitated at the family home in Trafford, Greater Manchester.
Eva Clements had been employed by Mr Smith and his wife, Amy, through a company named Ruthie Maternity Services. The parents believed Ms Clements was skilled, fully trained and vetted, but Stockport Coroner’s Court heard that neither she nor the company were regulated. Ruth Asare, head of Ruthie Maternity Services, said she had no medical qualifications, only a first aid certificate and a Level 2 diploma in post-natal care from a three-day course and a six-month coursework project.
The inquest heard that Madison’s parents would “never have dreamed” of putting their son to sleep on his stomach, but Ms Clements advised them to do so, claiming all four of her own babies had slept on their stomachs with no problems. This advice contradicted NHS safe sleeping guidance, which recommends placing babies on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death.
Senior coroner Alison Mutch issued a narrative conclusion, stating that Madison died in circumstances where his death could not be ascertained while asleep in his cot, having been placed in a prone and unsafe sleeping position. She said the “purported expertise” of untrained people posed a risk to all children where unregulated services are used, and issued a prevention of future deaths report to the Secretary of State for Health, calling for regulation of maternity nurses.
In a statement, Matt Smith said losing Madison was “utterly excruciating” and that the death occurred in a “regulatory vacuum”. Steve Bruce, who was managing Blackpool FC at the time, said on the club’s X account: “It’s been the worst time of my family’s entire lives and is something no family should have to endure.”
