Grandmother of boy who drowned in pond ‘thought he was in bed'

Freddie Watmough was found face down in the water 20 minutes after police were called, and despite resuscitation attempts was pronounced dead in hospital.

His grandmother Julie Beardmore was looking after him while his mother, Leanne Beardmore, was at work on 23 May last year.

She told the hearing at Dover magistrates' court the house suddenly became quiet, adding: "I thought Freddie had gone upstairs to bed because he normally did that and put a quilt on top of him."

She said that after 10 minutes of quiet, she realised he was missing. She phoned her daughter and then the police at 11.46am, before searching the cupboards and other areas of the house in Dover where Freddie might have been.

Neighbour Shaun King said he was carrying out maintenance work on the pond and had broken for lunch when he saw Pc Kevin Sturgess searching for the boy.

"I went out to see him, thinking he was looking for one of my lads," said Mr King.

"He said he was looking for a little lad. I said I hadn't seen him but for some reason I went straight to the pond and there he was."

The pond, which contained koi carp, was normally fenced off, but on that day a section had been removed to allow Mr King access for maintenance work.

Pc Sturgess said: "As I was speaking to Mr King, he turned and thought about the pond and shot up the garden. As we arrived, I saw a small figure was lying in the pond face down."

He said a pile of rubbish, plus a trampoline and a patio table stacked in the corner of Freddie's garden, may have enabled him to scale two walls before venturing out.

Neither Freddie's mother nor his father, Philip Watmough, was in court today. Mrs Beardmore said her daughter could not attend as she is shortly to have another child.

Coroner Rachel Redman recorded a verdict of accidental death. She said: "This was a tragic accident of a little boy who managed to leave his home address, and his attention was drawn to a pond in a neighbouring garden and he tragically died."