A coroner has ruled that the death of a toddler who was run over on a travellers’ site in Ipswich was accidental.

One-year-old Ryan Ward, of Newry, County Down, died from head injuries after being hit by a van on the Lovetofts Road Recreation Ground on July 23 last year.

Coroner Peter Dean, speaking at the Ip-City Centre in Ipswich today, recorded a verdict of “accidental death”.

“What we have is an awfully tragic situation that has taken the life of young Ryan Ward,” he said.

“There was an enormous amount of distress and attempts by everybody to do what they could to save him.”

The inquest heard that the injured toddler had been taken to the Landmark House police base, by his mother Rosie Ward, where officers attempted to resuscitate him, but to no avail.

Pc Jeffrey Cribb, a forensic collision investigator with Suffolk Constabulary, later attended the accident site and spoke with van driver Edward Stokes.

Mr Stokes told the officer that he had collected his children form a caravan on the site and then, as he drove away “felt a bump” on the front nearside.

“He heard a screaming from other people on the site, stopped immediately and found that Ryan had been run over by his vehicle,” said Pc Cribb.

He found no evidence of a high speed collision and no suggestion that Mr Stokes had been drinking or taking drugs.

“There was a great deal of upset from all persons involved and a very clear effort to get aid for help,” he added.