Four-year-old found drowned in pond after wandering off from home while playing

A young boy wandered away from his family home and was found dead in a pond by his uncle, an inquest has heard. Ifan Wedros Owen-Jones had been playing in a caravan where he lived with his parents before being discovered.

The four-year-old was found lying face-down in the pond on August 7 last year. He had spent that afternoon playing outside with his siblings before returned to the caravan and playing with his iPad.

An inquest into his death heard his mother Sian fell asleep in the caravan but could hear the children playing as the door was open due to the warm weather.

WalesOnline reports PC James Lang-Ford read a report at the inquest, saying Ifan’s mother "was awoken and could hear Ifan playing outside".

He added: "She went to the toilet and came back and asked the other children where Ifan was.

"They searched the yard and the sheds but they could not find him." Some distance from the caravan was a pond described at the inquest as "not massive but bigger than one you would have in your garden".

The inquest, held at the County Hall in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, on Thursday, was told Ifan had "never tried to access the area where the pond was located".

Ifan’s mother drove around the land, in the village of Blaenffos, to look for Ifan.

At 5pm she was in tears as he could not be found during the search, which included his uncle, Matthew Owen. Mr Owen was the first to arrive at the pond and could see his nephew lying face-down in the water.

Ifan was unresponsive, and the Welsh Ambulance Service was called. Despite the best efforts of family and paramedics Ifan was declared dead at 6.40pm.

Coroner Paul Bennett referenced a post-mortem examination carried out in the wake of Ifan’s death which revealed the cause of death as drowning. He added that there was "nothing to suggest foul play or third-party involvement".

The inquest also heard that Ifan had been awaiting tests due to a suspected autism spectrum disorder. Mr Bennett said he considered such a condition to be a "significant contributory factor" and an "indirect cause" in the boy’s death.

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 could be said that a young child of Ifan’s age would not deliberately put himself in that position."

Mr Bennett, the acting senior coroner for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, recorded a conclusion of accidental death and expressed his deepest sympathies.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.