Four-year-old girl dies following incident at Waterworld in Stoke-on-Trent

A four-year-old girl has died following an incident at a swimming pool in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

Police said they were "called to Waterworld on Festival Way at around 4.20pm to reports of a girl, aged four, in a critical condition".

"Waterworld staff and colleagues from the West Midlands Ambulance Service treated the girl at the scene before paramedics took her to hospital for further treatment," officers added.

"Despite the best efforts of hospital staff, the girl died a short while later."

Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Maskew from Staffordshire Police said:

"Our thoughts are with the family at this terribly sad time.

"We are now making enquiries and looking to establish the circumstances of the incident. We would ask that members of the public avoid speculating in these early stages of the investigation and allow the family to grieve."

A Waterworld spokesperson said:

"It is with great sadness that we learned of this little girl's passing this evening.

"All our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during these extremely difficult times. Waterworld is in shock and has decided to remain closed tomorrow out of respect for the family. Waterworld is working closely with the authorities at this sad time."