Devastated mother reveals how her 16-month-old son drowned in garden pond

A mother has described how her 16-month-old son drowned in a garden pond.

Kailin Tucker was playing with his cousin Callum, who is a month older, in his grandmother's back garden in Southampton.

His mother, Sasha, 20, said the toddlers had been alone for less than a minute when Callum came into the house crying.

She rushed out and found Kailin face down in the water.

Doctors at Southampton General Hospital said he was dead but, astonishingly, after 45 minutes, as nurses washed his body, his heartbeat returned.

The fight to save him then continued for another three days, but he was pronounced brain dead on August 2.

Miss Tucker, of Southampton, said: 'Kailin was one in a million. You only had to meet him once and you fell in love with him.'

Miss Tucker said: 'They had both had their baths and were in their pyjamas playing in the garden.

'They never went anywhere near the pond before because they were both scared of the water.

'I was never more than a few feet from the boys because they were playing very close to the patio doors.'

The shop assistant added: 'Then Callum came inside by himself and was crying and whingeing about something, so I started to panic.

'I ran outside and couldn't see Kailin straight away - but then I saw him face down in the water.

'I pulled him out and handed him to my brother Shawn, but he couldn't get any water out of him.

'So I ran out into the street with him and screamed for help. A man who heard me got his wife, who was a doctor, and she managed to bring up quite a lot of water.'

Grieving: Mother Sasha has tattooed her son's name on her shoulder

His mother said: 'Kailin really was one in a million. He was a very special boy who was always happy.

'He was a brilliant baby who loved life. You only had to meet him once and you fell in love with him.

'After he died I didn't cope well because he was my life.

'I didn't know what to feel, I just wanted to hold him, he was my baby. It didn't feel real.'

Since the accident, Sasha, who is separated from Kailin's father, has been staying at her mother's house as she is too distressed to go home to her flat.

She has had her son's full name - Kailin Rory Tucker - tattooed on her arm along with a picture of his favourite children's character, Iggle Piggle from In The Night Garden.

The pond has been filled in.

Kailin's grandmother, 42, said: 'All we kept seeing was Kailin out there - it was horrible. I have got to live with that for the rest of my life.'

The inquest into the tragedy has been opened and adjourned.