Norfolk 'bouncy castle explosion': Girl, 3, who died in Norfolk was from Suffolk

A little girl who died after a bouncy castle "exploded" in Norfolk was a three-year-old from Suffolk, police say.

A post-mortem is due to take place following the tragedy on Gorleston beach in Norfolk on Sunday morning.

Norfolk Police said: "A Home Office post-mortem is due to take place this afternoon to determine the cause of her death.

"A police cordon has been put in place at the scene whilst enquiries continue and this is likely to remain in place for the rest of the day."

Superintendent Roger Wiltshire said: "We were called to a report of an inflatable trampoline apparently bursting on Gorleston beach, following a call to the ambulance service.

"I'm very sad to report that a three-year-old girl was injured in that incident and subsequently died in hospital.

"The witnesses report a loud bang before the incident but we don't know at this stage what caused the trampoline to apparently burst and that's the purpose of the investigation that we will be undertaking over the next day or so."

He said the inflatable was designed to be used by one person, and she was the only person on it at the time.

Police said experts from as far afield as Wales were assisting with the investigation, and a cordon is likely to remain in place until Tuesday evening.

Sarah Allard, who was at the scene, said she heard a loud bang as the bouncy castle "exploded" and propelled a girl 20ft into the air.

She said a lifeguard did CPR for around 15 minutes at the scene before paramedics arrived.

Two inflatables had been set up and the beach was particularly busy, with weekend temperatures of more than 21C (69F).

"A lot of people hadn't known what had happened," Ms Allard said. "It was desperately horrible and sad."

A windbreaker was placed around the girl as medics fought to save her, according to Sky News correspondent Joe Tidy.

The East of England Ambulance Service said it received more than a dozen calls about the incident.

"Several of our teams were dispatched, with the first on scene in four minutes," it said in a statement.

"The young female was seriously injured and in cardiac arrest on our arrival, and was conveyed to James Paget Hospital.

"Sadly, despite all of the efforts and interventions, she was pronounced deceased."

Norfolk Constabulary, which was called to Gorleston's Lower Esplanade at around 11.15am, said a joint investigation into the incident had been set up between the Health and Safety Executive, local authority and police.