Inquest hears of pool tragedy

A MOTHER has spoken of the awful moment she discovered her three-year-old daughter drowning in a swimming pool after the toddler playfully refused to come inside.

Paige Griffin was visiting her grandmother in Woodbridge with her mother, Lynne, when the accident happened on May 13.

In a statement read out yesterday at an inquest into the toddler's death, Mrs Griffin described how she looked for Paige after she refused to come into the house when her grandmother asked.

Although she said the day was now a blur, she remembered going out of the patio doors and glancing at the pool and not seeing Paige at that stage.

She searched the snooker room, which was only accessible from the garden, and was a popular spot when Paige wanted to hide.

When she did not find her there, Mrs Griffin described going back past the pool and seeing Paige in it.

In a statement, she said: “I remember looking at the pool and saw her in it. I reached in and grabbed her by the t-shirt and pulled her out. I remember shouting to my mum.”

Mrs Griffin and her mother, Eileen, then desperately fought to save the three-year-old's life.

When paramedics arrived they took over the resuscitation attempt and took her to Ipswich Hospital.

She was later transferred to St Mary's Hospital, in Westminster, but sadly died two days later.

Greater Suffolk Coroner Dr Peter Dean said Mrs Griffin, from Glanville Place, Kesgrave, described Paige as a happy child, full of energy; a live-wire who loved to dance, who was always on the go and was very rarely sad.

In a statement, Paige's grandmother described seeing Paige running through the wind with her arms wide open and enjoying herself moment's before the accident.

A full police investigation was carried out and a post mortem examination showed the cause of death was consistent with immersion.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Dr Dean said: “It is clear that what has happened here was a very tragic accident and particularly more so when one considers the loss of a very young child of this age.

“It emphasises, clearly, the hazards around children and swimming pools. But, of course, it's a difficult situation where adults are doing their best to try to supervise a child in these circumstances and, as appears to be the case here, “Paige declined to come in from the garden when requested to do so and was not immediately found when her mother was searching for her as a result of that.”