Mum of boy, four, killed by bus hopes to bury him in her garden

The mum of a four-year-old boy killed when he was hit by a bus says she wants to bury him in their garden. Zaahir Jan Feizi was visiting his grandmother in hospital when he was hit by a bus on a zebra crossing near the A&E entrance on August 7.

Despite efforts to save him, Zaahir, from Canterbury, could not be revived. Mum Azaria Green, says she is now trying to raise £30,000 to buy the home she is renting, so that she can have Zaahir buried in the garden.

Azaria lives an hour’s walk from the cemetery where Zaahir is buried - and says moving his coffin to her own garden would help her grieve. She said: “If he were at home with us, then it would be better, because we would still be together. I know if he was in the garden, it would be better for my own mental health, which has really gone downhill.

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“I wouldn’t have to walk for 50 minutes or get in a car and be petrified because I'm so scared of vehicles. Even when I see or hear buses, I'm so scared - even though I wasn't there when this happened.”

Azaria has received more than £1,600 in donations on a fundraising page. It is legal to bury a relative in a garden in England, but strict rules apply. Anyone considering a home burial must have the landowner’s consent, satisfy the Environment Agency it will not take place within certain distances of specific types of water, and be deep enough so at least a metre of soil covers the top of the coffin.

Planning permission is not generally needed and there is no law against it on private land, but it can cause issues when a property is put up for sale. Government guidance also stresses graves must not risk groundwater pollution.

Azaria says she has been “overwhelmed” by the tributes and donations she has received so far. She says her son was visiting her mum in hospital with other adult relatives on the day of the tragedy, which happened shortly after 4pm.

An inquest opening into Zaahir’s death on August 27 heard how the single-decker Stagecoach bus was travelling at 5mph before the fatal collision. “The bus was travelling uphill towards the A&E entrance,” coroner Ian Potter said. “As it passed the entrance, for reasons unknown, a child pedestrian ran into the road and collided with the front nearside.”

The cause of death was given as multiple injuries, and the inquest was adjourned to take place at a later date. Paying tribute to her son, Azaria said: “He loved cars. He was a really strong boy, so strong, and he was so clever. He was always so happy.

“He was so loving, caring, and he loved to pray. I've been in hospital a few times [since the incident]. I think I'm becoming really sick, and it is apparently normal with grief. I felt like I was dying a lot of times, but I think it was panic attacks.

“I'm aggrieved and stressed, but I think if I had a house and my son was in the garden, it would help me, because I'm literally at his grave all the time.”

Azaria says although Zaahir was born in London, he would describe himself as Afghani, due to his father’s heritage. Stagecoach previously said it was “cooperating fully” with the police investigation and is “ensuring support is in place” for the bus driver.

In a statement this week, police said a “full and thorough investigation” was carried out by officers at the scene. “They concluded that no criminal offences had been committed, and a report has been provided to the coroner,” a spokesman said. “The family of the child involved has been kept up to date with the progression of the case and is aware of the outcome.”