Father pays tribute to toddler who drowned in pond
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THE heartbroken father of a Birmingham toddler who drowned in a pond today paid tribute to his “very special little boy”.
Speaking outside Birmingham Coroners Court following the opening of the inquest into three-year-old Ruben Buckley’s death, Louie Buckley, said: “He was a very special little boy.
“He could write and he was very strong.
“He was an adventurer. If you got out of the car, before you shut the car door he would be up the road and you would have to chase after him.”
Stifling tears and holding a picture of his son, Mr Buckley. of Handsworth Wood, said Ruben loved nothing more than playing a game called ‘chicken scratch’ with his friends.
He said his family were struggling to come to terms with the tot’s death, adding God had “taken him for a reason”.
During the inquest, Coroner Aidan Cotter said that the family had so far been unable to agree on the toddler’s funeral arrangements.
He then held two separate meetings in private, one with Mr Buckley and another with his mother, Barbara Parchment, to discuss releasing the youngster’s body so that a funeral can take place.
It is believed Mr Buckley and Ms Parchment are separated.
Mr Cotter also declined to give Ruben’s address, saying it was not in the best interest of his mother, who has another young child.
Ms Parchment is believed to be staying with relatives at a house in Coppice Road, Moseley, where Ruben was last seen playing during a family gathering on Saturday, June 15.
Relatives, friends and police mounted a frantic search for the child after he vanished.
At 5.30pm, an hour after he was reported missing, a police officer in the force helicopter spotted the youngster’s body floating face down in a pond in the back garden of a detached property in Anderton Road, which backs on to Coppice Road.
Despite efforts by police and paramedics to revive the child, he never regained consciousness and was later pronounced dead at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said the incident was not being treated as suspicious, adding: “It looks to have been a tragic accident.
The inquest was adjourned to a date yet to be fixed.
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