A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy died after accidentally hanging himself by his hood when it caught on a door knob as he was playing outside his father's flat, an inquest heard.

Maison Hirstle, described by his mum as "cheeky, happy and full of life", was running into the block of flats when he caught his hood on the inside entrance door knob as it swung shut behind him.

He was found hanging from the inside of the entrance door of a block of flats by a neighbour trying to enter the building on Friday, October 21, last year.

The four-year-old was not at school because of a respiratory infection; however, the inquest heard he had begged his father to play outside with his then five-year-old brother Preston.

Through what was described at the inquest as an "extraordinary and tragic accident" Maison got his hood caught on the inside doorknob of the heavy door to the block of flats as it swung shut.

Speaking after the inquest at Scarborough Rugby Club yesterday, Maison's mother, Katrina Glendinning, 37 said: "I'm absolutely devastated. I loved him more than the world.

"I'm sorry because I should have been there for him and obviously we all loved him more than we can say.

"I just don't really understand how this has happened. It's been hard to take it in and it still is.

"He was so full of life and really cheeky too. He always had a smile on his face and never stopped making people laugh. That's how we want to remember him."

At the inquest North Yorkshire East coroner Michael Oakley recorded the death as accidental.

Neighbour Rafal Twardowski, 32, told the inquest he came to the block of flats with a friend at around 2pm on the day Maison died.

He said: "There were some kids running around outside, there always are. My friends tried to open the door but it felt like it was blocked.

"We got the door open enough to get in I saw the boy was hanging from the other side by his hood.

"His lips were grey and he wasn't breathing."

Mr Twardowski and his friend called an ambulance, took Maison down from the door and started to give him CPR.

Maison's father James Hirstle, 30, told the inquest his then 16-year-old son TJ, who had been visiting that day, found Mr Twardowski giving Maison CPR in the communal entrance.

A distraught TJ picked Maison up in his arms, brought him upstairs and laid him out on the living room floor where he and his father tried to revive him.

When ambulance crews arrived at the flat, they continued to try to revive Maison but, although he was taken to Scarborough Hospital, the four-year-old never regained consciousness.

Painter and decorator Mr Hirstle said he had been on the balcony watching them play, but had been briefly distracted when TJ came over.

"They were always playing outside and running in and out of that door. Maison had begged me to be allowed to go and play and even though he was off school I let him.

"Of course I blame myself. I have to live with this everyday. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it."

Medical evidence read out to the inquest by paediatric pathologist Dr Srinavas Annavarapu noted Maison was suffering from a respiratory infection, but this would not have contributed to his death.

There were no wounds or bruises that would indicate violence and the ligatures around his neck were consistent with hanging, the inquest heard.

Dr Annavarapu said: "Overall the cause of death was from pressure on the neck through hanging."

He said: "This clearly is a case of an extremely tragic accident. Maison was pulled from school and we know from the evidence that it was because of an upper respiratory infection.

"He had been playing outside where he lived with his brother and friend and in some extraordinary way he had had his hood trapped in the door leading into the common area of the flats.

"This has led to his death by causing the ligatures around his neck."