Three-year-old Noah Woods tragically died after slipping away from a playground through a breach in a fence, an inquest at Suffolk Coroner’s Court has heard. The toddler, who lived in nearby East Bergholt, went missing in the village of Brantham on 15 September, triggering an extensive search operation. Police divers later recovered his body from a local pond the following day.
Opening and adjourning the inquest in Ipswich, Assistant Coroner Jyoti Gill described the death as a deeply tragic event. Det Ch Insp Matt Connick of Suffolk Police outlined the circumstances leading up to the incident, noting that Noah was at the Merriam Close play area as part of his regular routine with a relative. They loved playing chase together, running around, and exploring the play equipment, they had the most wonderful relationship.
CCTV footage captured the child in the play zone before he escaped through a damaged section of internal fencing designed to divide the playground from an adjoining memorial garden. Once through the gap, he exited the garden through an open gate and proceeded down a path within a new housing development toward the nearby Decoy Pond. The relative attempted to pursue the child immediately but lost sight of him after calling out to him, according to police accounts. A second man joined the search effort before emergency services were alerted.
At the time of the search, authorities were informed that Noah was non-verbal and experienced partial hearing loss. Further details shared during the inquest clarified that while he had not been formally diagnosed with autism, he was currently undergoing assessments for the condition. Although he had not received a diagnosis, noah was being assessed for autism. He also had mild hearing loss and was speech delayed.
In a moving tribute, Noah’s family described him as a “happy, cheeky, playful” boy who was the center of their lives. His mother, Charlie, shared a poignant message to other parents, urging them to “hold their children a little tighter, cherish every moment, and never take those precious memories for granted.” The family noted that despite the challenges he faced, Noah was learning constantly and had recently begun to find his own voice. Living with his mummy, daddy and his little baby brother,” it said, he was part of a loving and caring family. He was saying new words all the time and had only just started finding and using his little voice. You can read the full family tribute here.
Brantham Parish Council, which is responsible for maintaining the site at Merriam Close, expressed profound sadness over the tragedy. In an official statement, the council confirmed that while there was a break in the internal fencing during construction, the entirety of the playground and memorial garden remains fully enclosed by perimeter fencing. The council emphasized that it is cooperating with ongoing investigations and stated it would be inappropriate to offer further comment until those inquiries conclude.
