A GIRL of four accidentally hanged herself from her bunk bed when she got her Hello Kitty bag strap caught around her neck while sleepwalking, an inquest has heard.
Tegan Hancox’s seven-year-old sister found her with her toes two inches off the floor.
Tegan may have climbed from her bed while asleep, with the “sew it yourself” bag still attached to her.
Her heartbroken mum Becky, 24, said her daughter had walked in her sleep four or five times before — a condition she may have got from her dad.
Speaking of the tragedy just days before Christmas, she told Coventry Coroner’s Court: “Other than being possessed, the only thing I can think of is that she was sleepwalking. If she had been playing she would have made a noise.
“She had sleepwalked four or five times.
“She would just get out of bed normally, come to the top of the stairs and talk gibberish.
“She wasn’t awake and would have no recollection of it in the morning. Her dad was bad for sleepwalking.”
The tragedy happened in the room Tegan shared with her younger sister Tayla in their home in Willenhall, Coventry, on the morning of December 15.
Consultant paediatrician Dr Peter Sidebotham told the inquest that the girls’ stepdad Stephen Shreenan, 23, had put them to bed at 7.30pm and checked on them again half-an-hour later.
He said Becky and Stephen slept downstairs but at 7am were woken by seven-year-old Chanelle.
Dr Sidebotham said: “Chanelle came down to say Tegan was hanging from the bed and that she thought she was dead.
“They found her hanging from the edge of the bed from the strap of a bag.
“Her feet were only two inches off the floor.
“Becky lifted her down and started resuscitation, but Tegan appeared very obviously dead.
“Stephen said the bag had been on the floor the previous night.
“There is nothing to suggest it was anything other than a tragic accident.”
Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Sean McGovern said: “It seems to me that sleepwalking was possible, and would explain what happened, but it’s something we will never know the answer to.
“You have lost a four-year-old in tragic circumstances. Nothing I can say will make it better for you.”
Speaking after the hearing, Becky said she was campaigning to improve the design of the sew-it-yourself bag and the cabin bed.
She added: “I’ve been speaking to Coventry trading standards about getting some changes made to the design of the bag and the bed.”