Game of hide-and-seek goes tragically wrong for young Brit boy

Four-year-old boy dead in dryer

Game of hide-and-seek goes tragically wrong for young Brit boy

Sonny Shepherd was trapped in the machine for an hour while his family and a police helicopter searched nearby fields for him thinking he'd strayed from the house.

Strange discovery

But when the search moved into the house, a police officer discovered the little boy in the machine's drum and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is still unclear whether he had suffocated in the tumble dryer or died as the machine began its cycle.

It is thought that he managed to climb into the machine and somehow close the door behind him.

Distraught
Sonny's mother Anne, who is in her mid-40s, is being comforted by neighbours and is too distraught to speak about what had happened.

Neighbours on the street in rural Ashbourne, Derbyshire, paid tribute to 'the sweet little lad' as police tried to piece together how the 'bizarre and tragic accident' happened. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said that Sonny loved playing hide-and-seek and was 'always trying to give his older brothers and sisters a surprise'.

He had finished nursery last week and it was the first day of his summer holidays, neighbours said.
It is understood that his mother had gone shopping in Ashbourne town centre, Derbyshire, some time after 10 am yesterday morning and had left Sonny's elder half-sister and half-brothers to look after him.

Oblivious
But the neighbour said, "I've been told that he was playing hide-and-seek while they were asleep in the front room."

It seems the little lad has climbed into the tumble dryer and somehow managed to shut the door while the rest of them were dozing on the sofa.

"The poor little mite was trapped inside. He must have been in there for at least an hour so."

"God only knows what it must have been like. While he was inside they were sat next door completely oblivious."

Police were called to the family's semi-detached home in the small market town just after 10.30 am.

They were alerted by Sonny's mother who returned from her shopping trip to find her little boy missing.

She frantically called police who sent officers to search the immediate area and a helicopter was sent up to carry out an aerial search.

Police made loud hailer appeals telling everyone in the town to look out for a four-year-old boy believed to have disappeared from his home less than a mile away.

Sad find
But within an hour, the grim discovery in the kitchen of the red brick three-bedroomed council house was made.
Other neighbours said that Shepherd had recently split from Sonny's father.

She often left him in the care of her four other children from her previous relationshipu00a0-- Sarah(20), Nathan (19), Martin(17), and 15-year-old Luke.

They were said to be inconsolable and were blaming themselves for the tragedy which unfolded under their noses.

A police source said, "At the moment, we are at the very early stages of this investigation but it does seem it's a bizarre and tragic accident.u00a0 This little boy has managed to climb inside a tumble dryer."

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said, "We are waiting for theu00a0 post-mortem report to see what step to take next for the investigation."

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