A FOUR-month-old baby girl described as ‘the most precious thing in the world’ died of sudden unexpected death in infancy, an inquest found.

Florence Mary Ineson-Payne, who was born in October 2017, was found unresponsive by her mother on the morning of February 22, 2018.

Olivia Grace Payne had put her daughter to sleep in her Moses basket at around 7pm the previous night.

When Miss Payne went to bed at 11pm, she had taken the basket and placed it on the floor next to her bed, which is where Florence usually slept.

When she woke at 8am, Miss Payne said she knew immediately there was something wrong.

In a statement read out at an inquest in Preston, by Coroner James Newman, Miss Payne said: “As I came round that morning, I knew something was wrong as it was 8am and she was still asleep.

“Normally, Florence would wake twice in the night but she hadn’t done so. I picked her up and tried to wake her but got no response.”

The court heard how Miss Payne, who lives with her parents in Lyndale Terrace, Gisburn, had shouted for her dad, who took Florence off her and told her to call an ambulance while he commenced CPR.

Miss Payne’s father and brother then took it in turns to try and resuscitate Florence until the ambulance arrived and took her to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Paramedics continued with life support, but Florence was pronounced dead at 9.05am.

It was heard that Miss Payne had not known she was pregnant with Florence until she went into labour.

And after the initial shock of welcoming a new baby to the family, Miss Payne said Florence quickly became ‘the most precious thing in her world.’

She said: “Florence did everything she was meant to do; she was a great sleeper and eater and could nearly sit up on her own.

“She was starting to develop her own personality and everything was fine.

“On the way to the hospital I kept thinking that she would wake up, but I knew she was already dead due to how she looked and felt when I had held her.”

A sudden unexpected death in children report noted that Florence was a normal healthy little girl and was well in the days up until her death, and no concerns had been raised surrounding her welfare.

Florence had also been meeting all the necessary milestones for a child her age.

Closing the inquest at Preston Coroner’s Court, Mr Newman said: “The cause of Florence’s death is unidentified by medical science as it currently stands.

“I therefore conclude that Florence Mary Ineson-Payne died of natural causes and record the death as unascertained.”