A TODDLER who died after being crushed under a car being driven by her mother had fallen or jumped from the back seat, an inquest heard.

Two-year-old Erin Wright died after the tragic incident in Moorland Park, Newport.

Her mother Bethan Wright, 28, was helping her sister Kathryn Gee empty their late mother's house when the accident happened on July 23, last year.

In a statement at Newport coroner's court Mrs Gee said her sister had been loading clothes into her automatic Citroen C2 on the drive when she heard screaming.

She ran out of the house to find Miss Wright holding Erin in her arms.

Erin was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

In a statement, Miss Wright said she was reversing with Erin in the back seat. She said: "I saw Erin either jump or fall out of the car."

PC Keith Rich, a road accident investigator with Gwent police, said Miss Wright, now living in Hanbury Mews, Gloucester, told him she had one foot out of the car and one foot on the pedals as she reversed, something she was able to do as the car was an automatic.

Gwent coroner David Bowen said: "The short answer to this is rather traumatically that the car was being operated without the driver being in full control.

"There is some confusion as to what exactly happened to cause Erin's injuries. Her mother had not sat properly on the driver's side before reversing the car, but she was perched on the outside with her right leg out of the car. She appears to have inadvertently applied full throttle, causing the car to spin round in the road.

"How Erin got out of the car is unclear but I'm satisfied that it is the last thing her mother expected to happen.

"It is quite clear her mother failed to ensure her daughter was safe and secure before she was moving. That is something that I am sure she will live with and haunt her for the rest of her life."

He recorded a verdict of misadventure.