A toddler drowned in a garden swimming pool that his parents had bought just a day before to replace a smaller one in a bid to prevent their son from gaining access to it, an inquest heard today.

Brooklyn Emon, aged two years and eight months, had been excited about the arrival of the new pool at the family home in Hatley Road, Southampton, on Tuesday April 19 this year.

His parents, Leah Montague and Adam Emon, filled the heated and filtered pool, which took 6,000 gallons of water that night.

They repeatedly warned Brooklyn that he was not allowed to go near it alone, the Southampton hearing was told.

The following day Mr Emon returned home from work early to play with his son in the pool.

Detective Sergeant Nigel Lee, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: ''Mr Emon was at work but decided to come home early as a surprise as he knew he (Brooklyn) had been excited about the pool during the day.

''Both parents informed him repeatedly and Brooklyn knew he wasn't allowed to go near the pool, the old one as well as the new one, without his armbands and without them being present.''

Mr Lee described how the father and son played in the pool with a remote-control boat over a half-hour period.

After getting out of the pool, Brooklyn had his dinner before joining his father, who was repairing his car with a friend, Gary Mabey, in a car park at the rear of the property.

Mr Lee explained that a gate leads from the car park to the garden, but Brooklyn was not able to open it by himself.

Ms Montague had gone into the house to check the family finances on the computer and to phone her mother in Italy.

Mr Lee said: ''On completion of that phone call, she came down and saw Brooklyn floating face up in the pool, not moving.

''She screamed and jumped in the pool and described how he wasn't moving.

''Mr Emon was still in the car park area when he heard the splash of Leah jumping into the paddling pool. He went to check if it was Brooklyn and found Leah hysterical with Brooklyn in her arms.''

The parents and Mr Mabey attempted to resuscitate Brooklyn and he was taken to Southampton general hospital but medics were unable to save him, the inquest heard.

Dr Bhumita Vadgama, a paediatric consultant who carried out a post-mortem examination, said that the cause of death was deprivation of oxygen to the brain following immersion in water.

Southampton coroner Keith Wiseman recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Det Supt Lee explained that the parents had bought the new pool because they were concerned that their existing one was not tall enough and Brooklyn, who was 37ins (95cm) tall, could gain access to it unaided.

The old pool had been 12ft long and 30ins (76cm) high while the new one was the same length and 36ins (91cm) high.

He said: ''The parents had become concerned he was able to get into this (old pool) on his own. Bearing that in mind, they decided to buy a new pool which was taller as a safety measure.

''This was ordered on the Saturday and delivered on April 19.

''There were no steps to gain access to it, another feature the parents had considered to prevent Brooklyn getting in on his own.''

He added: ''The whole purpose of buying the new pool was the objective of avoiding what happened the next day.

''There was nothing that we could see that was close enough that would allow Brooklyn to get into the pool, for example there were no chairs next to it.

''There was nothing the parents had neglected to do or had done that had contributed to Brooklyn getting into the pool.''

He said that it appeared that the gate between the garden and the car park had not been fully clicked shut, allowing Brooklyn to gain access to the garden and the pool while his parent's attention were diverted.

Mr Wiseman said: ''The situation appears to be very momentary inattention to where Brooklyn was for those few seconds.''

Speaking to the parents, he added: ''It's difficult to imagine a more tragic event for a family to have to cope with. The most important thing to say is how profoundly sorry I am for you both.''

He said that it was a ''supreme irony'' that the new taller pool had been installed only a day before the tragic incident.

He added: ''This was an accident in the purest sense of the word and that's the only verdict I can record.''

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Emon said: ''As a tribute to him, we miss him more than anything else.

''As parents it's not the same without him. Wherever he is we wish him the best.

''It's an end but not an end for us, nothing changes, every day is hard and difficult without him.''