A FUNERAL SERVICE will be held tomorrow for Robert Christie, the young boy who died in a slurry accident on an Antrim farm over the weekend.
The eight-year-old will be laid to rest in his hometown of Dunloy.
His family have asked for privacy, advising the media that the service is strictly private.
In a statement issued through the PSNI, the family asked journalists to “stay away from both the family home and church and to respect the solemnity and dignity of the occasion”.
They also asked various media outlets to refrain from contacting them, the clergy or congregation.
The family ask that their privacy be respected at this painful and difficult time and that they be given space and time to grieve and come to terms with everything that has happened.
Robert’s father, Bertie, remains in a critical condition in hospital.
The father and son were overcome by slurry gasses on Saturday afternoon. It is understood the pair were helping a family friend on his farm and were mixing the slurry at the time.
They were discovered by a local postman and airlifted to hospital in Belfast. Northern Ireland’s Health and Safety Executive is now investigating the incident.
“It is a reminder to us all that we don’t know what a day is going to bring,” Mervyn Storey, a DUP MLA, told BBC News.
“There is a family and a community plunged into indescribable sorrow. And our thoughts and prayers are with the Christie family.”
The bereaved family are well-know in the area and Robert is survived by his mother, father (52) and two sisters, Isobel and Alison.
Both girls attend the local Knockahollett Primary school, where children today are being offered counselling.
Principal Gerry Black paid tribute to his young pupil.
“What Robert didn’t know about farming, wasn’t worth knowing. He would frequently tell me about things he had done at the weekend or what he was going to do.
“His loss is going to have a huge impact. We have a very close family spirit and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
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