'Loved little boy' Spencer died next to sleeping parents on sofa, Derbyshire inquest told
A FOUR-WEEK-OLD baby died after being left to sleep on the settee with his parents, an inquest heard.
Spencer Proudfoot, of Grosvenor Street, Derby, was found lifeless by his mother, Chaneen, in the early hours of March 29 this year.
Despite frantic efforts to save him, he could not be revived.
A police investigation found no-one was to blame for the "terrible tragedy".
Det Con Adrian Brambley told Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner's Court that Spencer's father, Michael, fed him at around midnight and then tried to wind him so he slept peacefully.
Mr Proudfoot laid Spencer on the settee with his feet near the back of the seat and his head near the edge – which had previously worked, said Det Con Brambley.
Spencer was usually woken from his cot for his last feed at midnight, the inquest was told, but the family had been socialising in the lounge in the evening and Spencer had stayed with them.
At 1.45am, Mrs Proudfoot realised she and her husband had both fallen asleep with Spencer on the settee. The baby was found to be lifeless, pale and not breathing, the inquest heard.
The couple called 999 and three paramedics came to Spencer's aid and tried to resuscitate him. He was taken to the Royal Derby Hospital and was pronounced dead at around 2.45am.
Det Con Brambley, who led the police investigation, said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Spencer's death.
He said: "The investigation found nothing to suggest that Spencer was being mistreated. He was a healthy baby and was very well looked after. He was clearly a very loved little boy.
"Spencer's death was a terrible tragedy where there's no-one to blame. There's nothing anyone could have done to prevent it."
Spencer's parents attended the inquest but were not called to give evidence.
Dr Mudher Al-Adnani, a paediatric pathologist, carried out the post-mortem examination on Spencer.
He told the hearing: "Spencer was a normal baby boy and I found nothing that explained his death from a medical point of view. I found nothing that indicated why he died in this way. I cannot say that Spencer died of cot death because there is the complicating factor that he was on the sofa with his parents, not in his bed. It is deemed unsafe for children to sleep so close to their parents.
"But this could have easily have happened if Spencer was in his cot. There is just no way of knowing."
Dr Al-Adnani said that the cause of death was unascertained.
Deputy Coroner, Louise Pinder, also recorded a verdict of unascertained death.
She said: "Spencer was a well cared for, loved little boy when he was found lifeless by his parents after they fell asleep. Co-sleeping is a recognised risk for sudden infant death syndrome."
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