Pond death boy was 'adventurer'

Police officers tried to save the boy at the house in Anderton Park Road

An inquest into the death of a three-year-old boy who died after being found in a garden pond has been opened and adjourned.

Ruben Buckley was found in the back garden of a house in Moseley, Birmingham, during Saturday afternoon.

He had been visiting relatives when he went missing and was found in the nearby garden an hour later.

His father, Louie Buckley, described his son as a "blessing" and an "outdoor adventurer".

He told Birmingham Coroners Court: "If we got out of the car before we shut the car door, he would be up the road and we would have to run after him and chase him and get him back."

Ruben and his mother had been staying at a house in Coppice Road, which backs onto the garden in Anderton Park Road where he was found, for a few days before the accident happened.

He was found in the pond about an hour after he had been reported missing. He died later in hospital.

Police described his death as a "tragic accident" and said they were still waiting for post-mortem examination results.

The inquest has been adjourned for a date yet to be fixed.