The death of an eight-year-old boy who was killed by a falling gravestone could have been prevented if proper checks had been carried out, a sheriff has ruled.

Ciaran Williamson died after a 7ft high gravestone fell on him at Craigton Cemetery, in Cardonald, as he was playing with friends.

Ciaran's family have told STV News the events of May 16, 2015 will never leave them and they fear lessons will not be learned from his death.

On Thursday, Sheriff Linda Ruxton's Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) determination was published, in which she said a routine inspection to assess the safety of the gravestone should have been carried out.

In a summary of the ruling, Ciaran's death was described as "a tragic accident which might have been avoided if certain safety precautions had been taken."

The FAI heard that Ciaran and his young friends had been playing a game where some of them would climb on top of the gravestone, known as the Ross memorial, and push off of it onto an adjacent wall.

When the two-and-a-half tonne memorial began to wobble, three of Ciaran's friends tried to steady it.

However, there was nothing they could to to prevent it from falling and the pediment of the gravestone struck Ciaran just as his friends jumped out of the way.

The FAI ruling said his death was instantaneous and painless.

At the time of the accident, the Ross memorial was leaning over at an angle of just over six degrees.

The sheriff said that if an inspection of the gravestone had been carried out, it would have been cordoned off within 24 hours.

She further said that the absence of an active system of memorial inspections by Glasgow City Council contributed to Ciaran's death.

New guidance on the inspection of large memorials which were leaning from vertical were needed, Sheriff Ruxton said.

Investigations from Digby Brown Solicitors, who represented most of Ciaran's family, found the memorial that killed Ciaran was leaning so precariously one expert suggested a "gust of wind" would have toppled it.

Ciaran's mother Stephanie Griffin, 27, told STV News: "I don't think I'll ever get my head around what happened to him that night, or what I saw that night.

"It will never leave us."

Ms Griffin said that despite the FAI, she feared action would not be taken to ensure graveyards were safe.

Ciaran's stepfather Thomas McGee said the gravestone was an "accident waiting to happen," due to the fact only a small amount of force was needed for it to fall over.