A three-year-old girl drowned in a bath at her home after she managed to turn on the taps, an inquest heard.
Iris-Mae Aubrey was found unconscious by her parents at their home on Montague Street in Abertillery on September 26, 2023.
An inquest at Gwent Coroner’s Court today heard that Iris-Mae fell ill at school on the day of her death and was picked up by her grandmother who took her home.
The grandmother then stayed with her and Iris-Mae’s mother, Chelsea, until her father Ryan came home from work that afternoon.
Three-year-old Iris-Mae Aubrey died tragically after drowning in a bath at her home last year
Iris-Mae was found unconscious by her parents at their home in Abertillery. Here she is in photo with her father Ryan
Iris-Mae was given Calpol and slept on the sofa before vomiting on her pajamas later that night.
Her father ran her a bath upstairs and her mother then came to check the temperature of the bath, making sure it was half full to her daughter’s waist.
Around 8:25 p.m., Chelsea left Iris-Mae and went downstairs to get her a towel and tidy up.
The inquest heard that her mother was listening because Iris-Mae often called her to tell her she was ready to get out of the bath.
Gwent Coroner’s Court, pictured, heard how Iris-Mae managed to turn on the taps in the bath while she was unattended.
Around 8:50 p.m., about 25 minutes after she left, Chelsea went upstairs and found the bath completely full with her daughter inside.
She got him out, started CPR and called emergency services. Paramedics from the Wales Ambulance Service arrived at around 9pm and continued efforts to resuscitate Iris-Mae, but were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at 9.41pm.
Senior coroner Caroline Saunders said it appeared Iris-Mae had managed to turn on the bath taps while she was unattended.
Ms Saunders said it was a “terrible event that will never leave” the family. She concluded that Iris-Mae had drowned after being left unattended and that her death was an accident.