'Devastating' head injuries: Austen Harrison, four, had been playing with a heavy fitting-room mirror . Staff at a Hugo Boss store where a four-year-old boy was fatally struck by a falling mirror were warned it was dangerous nine months before, an inquest has heard. Head of shop construction Ben Mareschal told staff at the Bicester outlet village in Oxfordshire the three-way mirror needed to be fitted properly in September 2012. In June 2013, the same mirror toppled over onto Austen Harrison, of Turners Hill, West Sussex, who died in hospital four days later after undergoing an emergency operation to relieve pressure on his brain. Austen was with his parents, Simon and Irina Harrison, when the incident happened at the Bicester outlet village at around 8.30pm on June 4, 2013. Mrs Harrison and her son met Mr Harrison after he finished work and had dinner at a Carluccio's restaurant before going to the Hugo Boss store. The four-year-old had been playing with the mirror while his father tried on a suit when it fell. An inquest into his death at Oxford Coroner's Court heard that the mirror was not fixed to the wall and that its free-standing position meant it could easily overbalance. Mr Mareschal, who has since left Hugo Boss, told the inquest: 'I clearly remember the three-way mirror was in the wrong location, it was not in the fitting area. 'I recall putting my hand on the mirror and I said "guys, it can't be here, it needs to be fitted properly". 'It was not attached to the wall and was masking a gap in the wall fittings. I walked to the fitting room and indicated where it needed to go. 'The three-way mirror was certainly not a freestanding mirror and to leave it standing on the floor would have been inherently dangerous due to its size and weight. 'It needed to be fixed securely to the wall.' Mr Mareschal visited the shop just before leaving the company for a new job and sent an email to area manager Matthew Pink, copying in contractors, containing an update on work at the store a month after it opened in August 2012, the inquest in Oxford was told. It said another night of work was needed to install items including a three-way mirror, which meant the wall would have to be reinforced. He said: 'If I had received notification the mirror was not fitted correctly, I would have taken the necessary steps to rectify that. 'I was very shocked to hear about the incident.' Mr Mareschal said Hugo Boss did not cut corners in relation to health and safety but admitted the job was 'low cost and fast paced', taking place at a time when the contractors Pattons were going out of business. Accident scene: An inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court heard that the mirror was not fixed to the wall of the Hugo Boss store in Bicester (above) and that its free-standing position meant it could easily overbalance . However, Pattons and Keith Johns, a project manager for Hush Minoan, was brought in to liaise between Pattons and Hugo Boss, both claimed no three way mirror was ever installed. Colin Quinn, from shopfitters Pattons, told the inquest: 'No mirrors were to be installed. The three-way mirror never appeared. At the handover, there was no three-way mirror in the store.' Earlier, Hugo Boss facilities manager Nigel Hobson told the inquest that shop fittings should only be moved around by contractors and not be employees. He said: 'This would have been a shop construction issue.' Meanwhile, manager  Andrew Morgan told the inquest that he checked the fixtures and fittings every day, and that he would have reported any concerns. But he refused to answer questions on whether he documented monthly health and safety inspections. Mr Morgan told the court that neither he nor any of his staff took down the old mirror or installed the new one as it would have needed to be done 'by a professional'. He added: 'I put my trust in the professional person doing that, and to my knowledge it was attached to the wall.' Treatment: Austen was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital (pictured) in Oxford, where he underwent emergency surgery for swelling to his brain, but died four days later . Mr Morgan said the mirror was in a 'very high-traffic' area, used by customers and with access to an upstairs section of the shop and a stock room. But there were no reports of any concerns from customers. He said: 'In the event that there were, I would have addressed and communicated them. I would have had no reason not to.' Mr Morgan told the inquest: 'The fixtures and fittings were checked daily by myself. If there were any concerns they would have been highlighted daily.' And he told the court that two risk assessments were carried out at the shop, one by an external company which told him that 'everything was fine and in working order'. But when asked by Mr Barry whether he had documented the monthly health and safety inspections he was required to carry out, Mr Morgan replied: 'No comment.' Giving evidence: Simon Harrison (left), the boy's father, said the shop was not busy when they arrived and that he tried on a number of suits and jackets. Pictured (right) is a closed sign following the incident . Mr Morgan - who was not working the day of the incident - told the inquest he had watched the CCTV of the incident after Austen was crushed. He revealed: 'He was waving his arms and legs and pulling the wings of the mirror towards him and then the mirror fell on him. 'It was approaching a triangle on the floor. I believe Austen was trying to close the wings around him. It happened very quickly, it was not something that was pleasing to watch.' Earlier, Arif Jarvis, the operations manager in charge of providing cleaners at the store, told the inquest: 'I would come into the store to complete checks and one of them involved running my hand along the top of the mirror to check it had been dusted properly. 'It never moved. I am 99 per cent certain it was fixed to the wall. The mirror is not one that would be suitable to be freestanding on the floor. 'Neither of the cleaners ever raised any concerns about the mirror.' Mr Jarvis told the jury inquest he received a call on June 5, the day after the incident. He said: 'I went to the store and the mirror had been propped up. The wings were not attached and there were shards of glass and a pool of blood. 'I noticed how heavy it was. I was convinced it must have been attached to the wall. It makes no sense for it it to be freestanding on the floor.' Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said: 'The evidence indicates the mirror was not fixed to the wall.' On Monday, Austen's father Simon, of Crawley, West Sussex, relived the moment he heard a 'quick loud sudden bang' and turned around to see the mirror on the floor. An-off duty doctor desperately tried to keep young Austen alive before paramedics arrived. In a statement, he told the inquest: 'I was walking towards my wife Irina to choose a tie and Austen was behind me near the winged mirror. 'I heard a quick loud sudden bang, but no sound of breaking glass. I heard someone gasp and I looked and saw the mirror had fallen over. 'I knew Austen was underneath it as it was not lying flat to the floor.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Austen Harrison was playing with heavy fitting-room mirror in Bicester . Left with 'devastating' head injuries after it toppled over and crushed him . Inquest heard how staff were warned the mirror need to be properly fitted . But warning was never heeded - and 118kg mirror was left free-standing . Shop manager told inquest he undertook daily health and safety checks . Said there were never any concerns about the mirror being able to fall over .