Devastating final moments of “happy and mischievous” tots drowning in the paddling pool

Jameel Abdulhameed died last year while playing with his twin brother in a paddling pool in his back garden – the tot is said to have fallen into the pool while trying to retrieve a toy

A “happy and mischievous” one-year-old boy tragically lost his life while playing in the paddling pool in his back garden, a coroner has heard.

Jameel Abdulhameed was playing with his twin brother next to a paddling pool bought for them just weeks earlier on June 2, 2021 when he died.

Jameel is believed to be feeling his way into the pool while attempting to recover an Action Man toy.

His mother took plates back inside from their picnic lunch and came back to find Jameel face down in the water and unresponsive Derby Telegraph reported.

After attempting CPR at their home in Nottingham Road, Somercotes, near Alfreton, he was taken to the Royal Derby Hospital but was pronounced dead just three days before his second birthday.

At a documentary inquest at Chesterfield Coroners Court on Thursday May 26, Sarah Huntbach, Deputy Coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, read a statement from the boy’s mother, in which she said: “Jameel was a really happy and mischievous child.

“He was the one in charge. He was very loving to his siblings as he was such a loving boy.

“We all miss him so much and I don’t think we’ll ever get over what happened.”

Explaining the evidence, Miss Huntbach said that when fully inflated the paddling pool was 60cm high but filled with 38cm of water.

Jameel was 88cm tall and “didn’t like water,” his mother said in a statement.

But she added that he enjoyed throwing toys in the pool because of the noise and splashes it made.

By around 1pm, Jameel had had lunch with his twin brother and was briefly left outside when his mother returned to the house to put the plates back inside.

When she returned, Jameel was seen floating in the paddling pool and his mother immediately attempted CPR and rescue breaths, with vomit seen on his clothing.

She then took him to the Stop and Shop on Nottingham Road and asked someone to call an ambulance.

A community rescue team, an ambulance and the air ambulance were all at the scene.

Police investigations into the incident revealed no foul play or third-party involvement.

The coroner read a statement from Detective Constable Paul Butler of Derbyshire Police and said: “Their conclusion is that Jameel was leaning over the side of the pool to try and recover a toy.

“It was conceivable that he fell over the edge and stranded at the edge of the pool.”

Miss Huntbach recorded her verdict, agreeing the medical cause of death was drowning, and noting an accidental verdict.

The child’s family did not attend the hearing.

Miss Huntbach said: “Because of the evidence and the balancing of probabilities, Jameel bent over to the side trying to get a toy out of the paddling pool.

“He lost his balance which caused him to fall face down into the water. The verdict I record is that of an accident.

“I realize he was a typical toddler and the attraction was to get one of his toys out of the pool and I accept that as a conclusion that while trying to do that he then lost his balance and unfortunately is fell face down in the water.”