Former child star died 'needlessly' in LA wildfires, mother says as she shares agony

Shelley Sykes said she was unable to get through to emergency services to move her son Rory from his self-contained cottage next to her property, while flames surrounded the area

A British-born former child star, who was blind and had cerebral palsy, tragically lost his life in the Los Angeles wildfires, a disaster his mother claims could have been avoided.

Shelley Sykes, desperate to save her son Rory from the encroaching flames, attempted to reach emergency services but found herself unable to get through. Shelley said she was suffering a broken arm at the time of the incident and wasn't able to evacuate her 6ft5 son on her own.

In his final moments, she said he said to her: "He said, 'Mum, leave me', and no mum can leave their kid, and I've got a broken arm. I couldn't lift him. I couldn't move him. He was my baby, and he died needlessly. Guess what didn't work? 911. All the phone lines were down."

She drove 400 metres to her local fire station for help but was told they had 'no water'. "When the fire department brought me back, his cottage was burned to the ground," the mother said. Rory, who appeared on TV show Kiddy Kapers as a child, died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

However, Las Virgenes Municipal Water refutes her claims, insisting that "water service did remain available and uninterrupted to her property and the entire surrounding community". Meanwhile, Jason Oppenheim, star of US reality programme Selling Sunset, has accused landlords of exploiting those displaced by the fires, which started on Tuesday just north of central LA and have since destroyed more than 12,000 structures.

The reality star, who has offered to represent those who have lost their homes for free, revealed that Oppenheim Group agents have "received dozens and dozens of calls from people who have lost their homes in the fires". Speaking on BBC One's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, he said: "It’s all hands on deck right now, but it’s really difficult because there are thousands of people who are displaced without places to stay," He added: "The hotels are overwhelmed all the way down to Newport Beach and even into San Diego you can’t get a hotel room right now."

Shockingly, he also exposed landlords taking advantage of the situation.

"I had a client, we sent him to a house that was asking 13,000 dollars (£10,600) a month. He offered 20,000 dollars (£16,400) a month, and he offered to pay six months up front. And the landlord said, 'No, I want 23,000 dollars (18,800) a month’. You know, there are price-gouging laws in California that are just being ignored right now."

He concluded: "And this isn’t the time to be taking advantage of situations, and it’s also illegal to take advantage of a natural disaster."

The death toll from the wildfires has risen to 16 as crews battle to halt the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames towards some of the city’s most famous landmarks.

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