Open verdict in boy hanging case

Morgan Pound was a keen sailor

A coroner has recorded an open verdict into the death of a nine year old boy found hanging at his home in Cornwall.

Morgan Pound was discovered in the bedroom of his Penryn home by his mother and sister on 14 April 2008.

An inquest in Truro heard how he rigged up a computer strap next to his bunk bed so he could swing down from it instead of using the ladder.

Dr Emma Carlyon, the coroner said: "There was no evidence as to exactly how he came to be hanging."

Morgan's converted attic bedroom had an eight-inch wooden beam that ran alongside his bunk bed.

His mother, Fiona, found him hanging 45 minutes after he went upstairs to tidy his room.

'Accident or horseplay'

She said: "Morgan was hanging by the strap placed over the beam about a foot from the edge of the bed.

"There was nothing to suggest he had tried to hang himself. His bedroom was in a mess as usual with Lego everywhere."

The afternoon of his death he, Mrs Pound, 39, and eight-year-old sister Morwenna had given a presentation to his school, Mylor Bridge Primary, about their sailing holidays.

The youngster was due to spend a few months with his family sailing around the Mediterranean.

Recording an open verdict Dr Carlyon said: "The evidence points to an accident or horseplay which went wrong."

In a statement, Mrs Pound, and Morgan's father Stephen, 40, described him as their number one son.

They thanked the emergency services for their attempts to save him.