Toddler, 3, died in bath accident after she turned taps on unattended, coroner rules

A three-year-old girl who drowned in a bath at home died accidentally after she turned the taps on while unattended, an inquest has heard.

Iris-Mae Aubrey was found unresponsive by her parents at their home in Abertillery on September 26 2023.

An inquest at Gwent Coroner's Court today (May 15) heard that on the day of the incident Iris-Mae had become unwell at school and had been collected early by her grandmother.

Iris-Mae was given Calpol and slept on the sofa before she vomited on her pyjamas later that night.

Her father ran her a bath upstairs and her mother then came up and checked the bath temperature, ensuring it was half-filled to her daughter's waist.

At around 8.25pm Chelsea left her Iris-Mae and went downstairs to get her a towel and to tidy up.

Around 25 minutes after she left her, Chelsea went upstairs and found the bath fully filled with her daughter inside.

She brought her out, began CPR and called emergency services. Paramedics arrived at around 9pm and continued efforts to revive Iris-Mae but were unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at 9.41pm.

Senior coroner Caroline Saunders said it appeared that Iris-Mae had managed to turn on the bath taps while she had been unattended.

Ms Saunders said this was a "terrible event which will never leave" the family. She concluded that Iris-Mae had drowned after being left unattended and that her death was an accident.

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