A British-born Australian man, who appeared on TV show Kiddy Kapers as a child, has died in the California wildfires, his mother has said.
Rory Sykes, 32, was living in a cottage on his family’s 17-acre estate in Malibu when the roof caught alight on 8 January.
His mother, Shelley Sykes, posted on X to say she was “heartbroken”, calling Mr Sykes a “wonderful son”.
She told Australian TV channel 10 News First that Mr Sykes died of “carbon monoxide poisoning”.
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She said that she has a broken arm and could not lift or move her son. After alerting the local fire department, she said when she was brought back to the property, “Rory’s cottage was burnt to the ground”.
Ms Sykes further claimed that when the blaze broke out, she could not put out the cinders with a hose because the water had been turned off by Las Virgenes Municipal Water.
“Even the 50 brave firefighters had no water all day! He will be incredibly missed,” she wrote in the post on X.
A spokesperson for Las Virgenes Municipal Water denied Ms Sykes claims, saying water to her property and the surrounding community was available and uninterrupted, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.
“Our water system remained operational and we did provide water to the firefighters throughout the emergency and without interruption,” the spokesperson said.
Mr Sykes was born in Britain before moving to Sydney as a child and becoming an Australian citizen, 10 News First reported.
He appeared on the 1998 show Kiddy Kapers, which was filmed in Yorkshire, according to IMDB, and later appeared on Australian chat show Kerri-Anne.
He was born blind and had cerebral palsy, meaning he had trouble walking, his mother said.
Ms Sykes said despite her son’s “pain” he remained enthusiastic about travelling the world and, at the age of eight, spoke at an event hosted by motivational speaker Tony Robbins.
He co-founded the Happy Charity alongside his mother in 2005, fundraising for sick children globally.
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“He will be incredibly missed by @shelleysykes, mama, his pet peacocks Edgee & Mickie & all his online fans around the world,” his mother wrote on X.
At least 24 people have keen killed in Los Angeles County after the fires broke out on 7 January. Fuelled by powerful winds, the fires have burned through 40,000 acres in nearly a week.
