Toddler drowned after wandering out of family home and falling into pond
Finley Sanders was staying with relatives in Carmarthenshire when the tragedy happened in May 2021.
An 18-month-old boy drowned in a pond after wandering out of a set of French doors at his family’s country manor estate in west Wales, an inquest has heard.
Finley Howell Sanders, from Clydach in Swansea, was staying with relatives at Maesycrugiau Manor near Pencader in Carmarthenshire when the tragedy happened on May 26, 2021.
His mum Alexandria called police at 10.17pm to report him missing after a frantic search of the property, the hearing at Llanelli Town Hall was told.
They went to look for the toddler in the grounds after that and Finley’s great-uncle found him unresponsive in the water at 10.44pm.
He attempted CPR while waiting for paramedics and Finley was rushed to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.
But he was sadly declared dead there at 1.01am the following morning.
The inquest heard Finley had arrived at the property with his mother that afternoon and later spent time with his great-grandmother inside the house.
At the inquest, coroner’s officer for Dyfed-Powys Police, Hayley Rogers, said CCTV footage from the property captured Finley wandering out of the house via a set of French doors.
Tragically mother and great-grandmother each thought he was with the other person.
A senior CID officer from Dyfed-Powys Police said the death was treated from the outset as ‘sudden and unexplained’ and that ‘nothing within the information or evidence gathered suggests foul play or third party involvement’.
Following the death, a post mortem was carried out at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol by paediatric pathologist Dr Andrew Bamber, who concluded that Finley’s cause of death was drowning.
Concluding the inquest, acting senior coroner for Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Paul Bennett, said: ‘There can be nothing more tragic than the death of a young child.
‘In every sense of the phrase this was a tragic accident.
‘Parents can never be expected to be at their children’s side constantly. It cannot be suggested in this case that this outcome arose due to any failures.’
Mr Bennett concluded that Finley died as a result of drowning and that his death was an accident.
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