An inquest has opened today into the death of a four-year-old girl at Waterworld earlier this month.

Vethavalli Vasu Dharma, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, died in hospital following an 'incident' at the attraction at Festival Park on 4 August, coroner Daniel Howe said.

Her place of death was listed as Royal Stoke University Hospital and the time of death was listed as 17:33 BST. According to the BBC, the girl was found "unresponsive and submerged in water" by a member of the public.

The inquest opened at Stoke Town Hall and adjourned to allow for more information to be gathered.

In a statement released after the incident, Waterworld said: "All our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during these extremely difficult times.

"The authorities were immediately alerted and Waterworld is working closely and openly with them to precisely understand the circumstances of this tragic accident. Waterworld is in shock and has decided to remain closed tomorrow out of respect for the young girl's family"

The incident has since been under investigation by Staffordshire Police and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, which confirmed it was carrying out a "full health and safety investigation" on 5 August.

The waterpark reopened on 6 August and it has since been confirmed that Mo Chaudry stepped down as a director of Waterworld Leisure Limited prior to the incident on 31 July.