Tragedy as boy, 4, drowned after wandering away whereas mom nipped to rest room

A four-year-old boy drowned in a pond after he wandered from his household’s countryside dwelling, an inquest heard. 

Little Ifan Owen-Jones had been enjoying together with his brothers in a sandpit outdoors the caravan the place he lived together with his dad and mom within the village of Blaenffos, Pembrokeshire, in August final yr.

The teen disappeared and was discovered face-down in a pond.

His mom Sian had fallen asleep, however may hear the kids enjoying outdoors by the door, which was open because of the heat climate.

PC James Lang-Ford stated Sian “was awoken and could hear Ifan playing outside”.

But after she “went to the toilet”, Ifan had gone lacking.

The household launched a seek for the boy, with Sian driving across the close by space in a determined hunt for her son. 

By 5pm, she was in tears as he couldn’t be discovered.

Ifan’s uncle Matthew Owen joined the search, and located his nephew mendacity face-down and unresponsive within the pond water.

The Welsh Ambulance Service was referred to as.

Despite the efforts of emergency personnel, the boy was declared useless on the scene at 6.40pm.

PC James Lang-Ford stated the pond was “some distance” from the caravan. It was described as “not massive but bigger than one you would have in your garden.”

Acting senior coroner for Pembrokshire Paul Bennett recorded a conclusion of unintentional demise and expressed his deepest sympathies to Ifan’s household on the Haverfordwest inquest. He stated there was “nothing to suggest foul play or third-party involvement”.

The listening to was instructed Ifan had “never tried to access the area where the pond was located”.

Ifan had been awaiting assessments on account of a suspected autism spectrum dysfunction, one thing which Mr Bennett stated was a “significant contributory factor” and an “indirect cause” within the boy’s demise.

He added: “This is undoubtedly one of those extremely distressing situations where a young child has died. To what extent Ifan’s autism spectrum disorder played a part is difficult for me to determine.

“It may very well be stated {that a} younger little one of Ifan’s age wouldn’t intentionally put himself in that place.”

In a statement, the family said: “Ifan was a fantastic, completely happy, wholesome little boy. He had his struggles with some issues on account of being autistic however he was wonderful at different issues.

“He loved the alphabet, counting and colours. He would watch Fireman Sam over and over. He loved climbing on anything he could find. His iPad was his safety blanket, it went everywhere with him.

“Everyone who met Ifan fell in love with him, everybody adored him.

“He was and always will be our special little boy. We are so lost without him. Ifan was our world. We are all truly broken.

“We as a household are really overwhelmed with the help, kindness and generosity we’ve got acquired from our household, buddies, local people and even folks we do not even know.

“We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’

The statement added his parents Sian and Wedros had their lives “modified perpetually when Ifan was in a tragic accident and misplaced his life.”