Tragedy of boy, 4, who died of 'traumatic brain injury' while playing in his back garden

Maldwyn Gwern Evans had been playing with his sister before she left to go back inside

A four-year-old boy died while playing in his back garden, an inquest has heard. Maldwyn Gwern Evans - known as Gwern - suffered a brain injury in an incident at his home.

No one witnessed exactly what happened, but it is believed that the youngster was playing with an antique roller. His mum, Sian Eleri Evans, heard a 'thug' before racing outside and calling for help.

Sadly nothing could be done to save the boy and he died at his home in Blaenesgair Farm, Tynreithin, near Tregaron in Wales, on the afternoon of June 20 this year. An inquest into his death was held at Aberystwyth Justice Centre on Wednesday afternoon.

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Gwern had been playing outside the family home alongside his sister after they had both returned from school. While his sister returned inside Gwern remained outside and his mother, who was in the kitchen, described hearing "a thud" coming from the garden, WalesOnline reports.

Emergency services were called to the area at around 4.30pm with Wales Air Ambulance personnel arriving at the property at 4.47pm. CPR was carried out on Gwern but it was confirmed at 5.21pm that he had tragically died at the scene.

His body was then taken to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen where a post mortem was carried out by paediatric pathologist Dr Andrew Bamber. His report found that Gwern had sustained a "significant head injury".

Resuscitation was attempted but was not successful, a consultant working for Wales Air Ambulance said. The "working diagnosis" at the scene was that Gwern had suffered a traumatic cardiac arrest secondary to a traumatic brain injury.

Senior coroner for Ceredigion Paul Brunton cited Dr Bamber's post mortem in which he said he was "unable to establish" for certain how Gwern sustained the head injury as there were no witnesses. He said there were a number of possible explanations and the one Mr Brunton found to be most likely was that Gwern had been pushing the roller handle from behind and had struck his head on the patio.

DC Richard Taberner, who was one of the officers called to the scene, said there was no evidence of a third party being present at the time of the incident and at no stage was the incident thought to be suspicious. There was also no evidence of neglect identified.

The antique roller had an estimated weight of between 50 and 60kg and that it was "feasible" that Gwern was able to move the roller by himself, DC Taberner said. He added that the garden was not flat and got steeper in the area where Gwern was found.

Gwern's mum was present at the inquest and a statement prepared by her was read to the court by Mr Brunton. Mrs Evans said that on the day of Gwern's death he and his sister had come home from school at 3.55pm and had tea and ice creams.

The children then went out to play and her daughter came back in but Gwern stayed outside to play. As Mrs Evans was in the kitchen she said she "heard a thud" and immediately thought it was the roller.

She said: "I had never seen Gwern playing with the roller before but he was quite inquisitive. He was very strong and determined and if he wanted to do something he could have got it moving."

Mrs Evans added that the homemade antique cast roller had been in the garden for around two years but she had moved it elsewhere in the garden around two weeks before the incident. She said: "The loss is unimaginable, not only to myself, his father and his sister but to wider family and friends."

Concluding the inquest, Mr Brunton described the events of June 20 as a "personal tragedy of immense significance". He said: "The post mortem has established that Gwern died from a head injury that was untreatable at the scene. On the balance of probabilities Gwern had been able to push the roller from behind using the handle and he was carried forward.

"The supposition must be that Gwern held on to it. As the roller came to the patio it flipped over and the handle threw Gwern over and he hit the concrete on the patio. It's quite clear that if Gwern had let go of that roller we would not be here this afternoon. Perhaps his pluckiness played a hand because he did not want to let go."

Recording a conclusion of accidental death, Mr Brunton addressed Gwern's family and said: "The loss of a child is perhaps the most devastating thing that can happen to any parent. It is any parent's nightmare and I can only offer my most profound condolences."

In a tribute issued following his death, Maldwyn's family said: "As a family we are incredibly distraught by our tragic loss and he will be greatly missed by us and the entire community. He was a loving son and a caring brother who touched the hearts of so many.

"He lived his short life to the fullest and will be remembered for his captivating personality. He was an extremely keen little farmer who had knowledge and ability beyond his years. We would like to thank everyone for their support and kindness at this horrific time.

"It has meant so much to the whole family. We would now like time to grieve and would ask to be given privacy in which to do so."

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