HE NEVER WOKE FROM HIS NAP

Claire Smith, 42, still tortures herself over the death of her little boy...

- EIMEAR O'HAGAN

Walking into my son Harry's bedroom to wake him from his nap, I knew immediately something was wrong - the room was too quiet. I stood over his cot, he was lying face down and motionless, and when I turned him over and saw his face and lips were blue, panic gripped me.

An hour later, I sat by his bedside in A&E trying to process the fact that my beautiful boy, who was just 21 months old, was dead. I couldn't even cry, I was in such deep shock. Despite the efforts of the paramedics, who'd come quickly after I'd dialled 999, it had proved impossible to bring him back.

Born on 19 July 2016, Harry was my second child, a baby brother to Brooke. He had the most wonderful smile and bright blue eyes and such a happy, affectionate, easy-going personality, loving Thomas the Tank Engine. Apart from some allergies, he was a healthy little boy.

The week leading up to his death, he'd had a mild cold, but I wasn't worried. On the day he died, 6 April 2018, I'd taken him and Brooke to a local cafe, where he'd run around happily, before putting him down for a nap back at home. I had no idea as I kissed his soft cheek that I'd never see him alive again.