Sara Moosa: 10-month-old girl drowns after plastic toy gets stuck in bathtub

A 10-month-old baby girl died in the bath when a plastic toy blocked the plughole, an inquest heard.

Sara Moosa drowned in just five inches of water after the stuck toy caused the bath to fill up as her mother went to fetch another toy.

An inquest at Leicester Town Hall heard how Sara's mother had put her in the bath with her twin brothers, and had the tap running without the plug in while she bathed them.

One of the boys asked for his shark toy and his mother went to fetch it. But when she returned, Sara was lying on her side in the bath with her face under the water.

In a statement from the family to the inquest, Sara was described as a "smiling and happy" little girl. She was pronounced dead at Leicester Royal Infirmary on August 14 last year.

A post mortem examination was carried out and concluded she had died from drowning. Summarising what happened, coroner Isobel Thistlethwaite said: "Sara and her two siblings were in the bath with the water running but no plug in.

"One sibling requested a toy. The mother returned and she noticed another toy had blocked the plug hole. The two siblings were standing up and Sara was on her side, under the water."

The family called 999 and, following the instructions of the ambulance operator, tried to perform CPR to get Sara's heart beating again. A statement was read out from a paramedic who arrived to find Sara downstairs on the kitchen counter where her family were performing CP

Miss Thistlethwaite recorded a conclusion of accidental death. She said: "No concerns were raised by the police following an inspection of the scene."