A “SMILING” and “giggling” baby tragically died after swallowing a 10p coin and reportedly turned blue during an A&E trip for his brother.

The 14 month old died in hospital after a nurse sounded the alarm when she saw the baby was blue and cold.

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His dad, David Matthews, brought the toddler along to A&E because his partner’s son had cut his foot on some glass.

The 42-year-old described how Hayden had been “smiling and giggling” in the car journey to the hospital.

He also explained how he believed the child to have fallen asleep during the one hour long trip.

David carried Hayden into the reception area at the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Truro where the tragedy took place.

The innocent tot died after 30 minutes of resuscitation failed to save him.

X-rays and a post-mortem spotted the 10p coin in his esophagus – the canal connecting the throat to the stomach.

The senior Cornwall coroner, Andrew Cox, said it was unknown how long the coin had been there.

He also said there was no perforation from the blackened coin which could have led to infection and even sepsis.

The Truro inquest heard how the swallowed coin could not be directly related to the boy’s death.

A police investigation found no suspicious circumstances and the cause of death could not be ascertained.

David Matthews, now living in Wales, had been looking after Hayden in the weeks before he died in Redruth having split from the mother.

In the weeks before he died the toddler had a cough and was being treated with steroids and an inhaler but otherwise he was well.

There were no other marks or injuries on Hayden and this was not a case of neglect.

Mr Cox recorded an open conclusion and said it was an unusual case where Hayden was only taken to the hospital because another child had been injured in an unrelated incident.

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