A YOUNG boy drowned in a pond after wandering away from his family home, an inquest heard.
Ifan Wedros Owen-Jones had been playing outside with his three brothers as his mum Sian Owen slept inside.
The mum said she woke up and heard Ifan, who was autistic and non-verbal, outside so popped to the bathroom.
She then asked her other children where the youngster was before the frantic family launched a search.
His uncle Matthew Owen, who lived opposite the family in Pembrokeshire, Wales, joined the hunt as Sian grew tearful.
The inquest heard how Matthew asked his sister: “He’s not gone in the pond has he?”
He then went to the pond and discovered Ifan floating face down in the water.
Emergency crews were scrambled but the youngster was tragically declared dead just over an hour later.
Andrew Bamber, a consultant paediatric and perinatal pathologist, told the inquest: “On the balance of probability the young boy drowned.
“However, his autistic spectrum disorder would have reduced his understanding of hazards and there is often a fascination with water in children with the condition.”
Acting senior coroner for Pembrokeshire Paul Bennett said there was “nothing to suggest foul play or third-party involvement”.
Ruling Ifan’s death as an accident, he added: “This is an extremely distressing and tragic case and, in my view, can only be an accident.
“To what extent his autism played is difficult for me to determine. But he would not have known or been aware of hazards the pond possessed.”
In a tribute, Ifan’s family added: “Ifan was a beautiful, happy, healthy little boy.
“He had his struggles with some things due to being autistic but he was amazing at other things.
“Everyone who met Ifan fell in love with him, everyone adored him.
“He was and always will be our special little boy. We are so lost without him, Ifan was our world. We are all truly broken.”