A SEEMINGLY healthy five-month-old baby died of heart problems that “no-one could have known about”, an inquest ruled this week.

Phil De Havilland-Hall and his son Koby were lying on a bed upstairs at their home in Barnards Green on May 2 and, after playing together for a while, they fell asleep, deputy county coroner Marguerite Elcock heard on Wednesday.

Mr De Havilland-Hall said that he was awoken by his partner and realised that something was wrong with Koby.

“I realised that he was not breathing and that there was no movement,” he said.

He started trying to resuscitate him on the bed and then called the emergency services. Resuscitation efforts continued under their guidance until paramedics arrived to take Koby to Worcestershire Royal Hospital. However it was not possible to revive him.

Dr Philip Cox, who conducted the post-mortem examination on Koby, said he found a number of abnormalities with his heart.

As well as a build-up of fluid, some of the muscles had thickened, he said. Fluid and bruising were also found in the lungs, indicating that the heart had not been functioning properly.

Further tests revealed a possible chromosomal abnormality, although Dr Cox said it was impossible to be certain if this had been a factor in Koby’s death.

He added: “Heart conditions are particularly difficult in babies. Unfortunately, often the first thing that anybody knows about them is when we look at them in circumstances like these.”

Mrs Elcock concluded: “Koby had a heart condition that no-one could have known about. This was a natural cause of death but it is not possible to say why that cause of death occurred.”