Noah Woods, the three-year-old boy who was found dead in a pond following a huge search in Suffolk, had left a play area "through a gap in the fence", an inquest in Ipswich has heard.

A major search was carried out in the village of Brantham after the toddler went missing on 15 September. His body was found the next day in nearby water by police divers.

Assistant coroner Jyoti Gill said it was a "very sad and tragic death" as she opened and adjourned the inquest.

Suffolk Coroner's Court heard from police that Noah had left the playground, walked into a memorial garden and left that through an open gate. He then ran down a path on a new housing estate towards the nearby Decoy Pond.

Dep Ch Insp Matt Connick from Suffolk Police told the court that CCTV showed Noah playing in the area with a relative close by.

After he had left the play area, he was closely followed by the relative trying to catch up with him, he added.

The inquest heard the relative had shouted out to Noah, who lived in neighbouring East Bergholt, but he went out of sight shortly afterwards.

Another man was said to have joined the search and then police were called.

Police divers from the Metropolitan Police went into a nearby body of water, known locally as Decoy Pond, on 16 September in an area where Noah was last seen.

The boy's body was found five metres from the edge of the pond within submerged tree roots at a depth of 1.8 metres.

A post-mortem examination was carried out at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, which the court was told "requires further investigation" before a final conclusion on the cause of death could be made.

Noah's death was not being treated as suspicious, the court heard.

A date for the full inquest has not been set.

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