THE heartbroken family of a four-month-old baby boy may never know for sure what caused his death.

An inquest into the death of Dillan Joel Beedle heard that there was a gas leak as the baby slept at Troutbeck Road in Redcar but it was impossible to know for sure if that was what caused him to die.

Teesside coroner Clare Bailey heard evidence from two pathologists who explained that the poisonous gas was probably expelled from the baby's lungs as his aunt's partner and then paramedics performed CPR.

Another possibility was that Dillan's death on October 25 last year was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Ultimately the coroner said the cause was "unascertained" and she gave a narrative conclusion which outlined the circumstances of Dillan's death.

The coroner's court heard that the baby was being looked after by his aunt Stephanie Ann Beedle and her partner Karl Stonehouse, when he passed away in the early hours of the morning.

In a written statement Mr Stonehouse explained that Dillan had a cough but was “playful” and the “happiest he had ever seen him” on the evening before his death.

There were four other children in the house who had all been put to bed. Shortly after he was fed, Dillan was put in his travel cot to sleep for the night at about 7.30pm and was checked on at about 10pm.

Mr Stonehouse woke up at around 4am to feed his own baby, three-months-old Riley. That caused Miss Beedle to wonder why Dillan had not woken at all in the night and she went to check.

Mr Stonehouse said: "I heard Stephanie scream 'Karl, it's Dillan, he's dead, he's dead'. I ran upstairs. I realised there was something seriously wrong.

"I rang the ambulance and they told me how to the CPR on the phone...but I was convinced he was dead. He was cold, stiff and pale and blotchy. I tried but it was no use."

Paramedics arrived and continued CPR. The baby was taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where he was pronounced dead at 5.40am. The baby's mother and father, Amanda Beedle and Michael Jones, were told of their baby's death there.

The smell of gas was noticed in the house which was at first thought to be the smell of glue used to make repairs on the skirting board. A specialist engineer located the source of the leak at the junction of an old, lead pipe a few feet from Dillan's room.

Pathologists found the baby had a slight virus, but that could not have contributed to his death.

There was diseases, no congenital abnormalities and no drugs or alcohol in his system. Police investigated and said there were absolutely no suspicious circumstances.