Toddler died after choking at Butlins in Bognor Regis

The mother of a two-year-old boy from Sussex, who died after choking on a piece of sausage at Butlins in Bognor Regis, said she warned doctors something bad was going to happen.

James Manning from Battle had a history of breathing difficulties leading up to his death in June 2018.

At the inquest today his mother and grandmother gave their account of what happened.

James was described by his mother and grandmother at the inquest on Monday as a "clever, outgoing and sociable child" who, when it came to food, "was not fussy".

When he was around a year old he would often find it difficult to swallow foods.

Ambulances had previously been called when James had been choking - on one occasion because James was choking on a piece of popcorn chicken.

The family were promised a referral to a specialist in Brighton but that had not happened before his death and James' mum Natalie told the hospital, "If you don't do something for my son something bad is gonna happen”.

Credit: ITV News Meridian

At the hearing on Monday, Natalie Reeves and her mother Angela Knight, who was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of James on, gave their account of what happened on June 6th 2018.

The family were three days into their holiday at Butlins when they went down to breakfast.

James had no problems with food during the trip so far.

As he ate a piece of sausage he began to choke.

Credit: ITV News Meridian

Natalie described how she ran outside the food court, she said: "I put him over my knees face down and started wacking him on the back as hard I could. It was like he was just fitting in my arms, I just picked him up and ran to the entrance and screamed for help."

"I was slapping James just really hard on the back, I stood up with him on the chair, I was slapping him more. I know this man came over and he just gave one big slap on the back."

Paramedics eventually arrived and James was taken to Southampton General Hospital. He died on June 20th.

The official cause of death was given as a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by choking.