A COUPLE whose three-year-old son died after a pond tragedy have paid tribute to their “well-loved'' little boy.Ethan Read-Marsden died at West Suffolk Hospital around eight hours after the accident at his grandparents' home in Crown Lane, Coney Weston, near Bury St Edmunds.

A COUPLE whose three-year-old son died after a pond tragedy have paid tribute to their “well-loved'' little boy.

Ethan Read-Marsden died at West Suffolk Hospital around eight hours after the accident at his grandparents' home in Crown Lane, Coney Weston, near Bury St Edmunds.

He was found in the pond by his five-year-old sister Chloe. She raised the alarm and Ethan's mother Suzanne Read resuscitated him with the help of paramedics over the telephone but he died in hospital later.

His father Aaron Marsden, 25, said: “He was well-loved and had good friends at his pre-school. It has not really hit me yet - though it will on Friday at his funeral.”

Mr Marsden, who plays football for the Stow Excelsior and The Priors Inn football teams, said: “We've had a lot of support from the football teams, family and friends.

“Every time I wore a football shirt, Ethan wore one as well. He loved his Action Man, his Spider Man and Scoobie Doo. He liked dressing up. He was a lovely little boy.”

Ms Read, 22, told how her son had been playing outside on October 23 when the accident happened. She said: “It is not real yet. We are just waiting for him to come through the door. He often acted like a monkey and you just wait for him to pop his head through the stairs, saying he's scared and asking to come downstairs.”

His sister Chloe talks openly about what happened the day of the accident and has now been interviewed by Suffolk Police, which has investigated the incident to establish what happened.

Mr Marsden added: “She said to me, 'we've got to be strong Daddy' and that it makes her sad because it makes me sad. Ethan will be sadly missed and he will always be in our hearts. We've got two little girls, Chloe and Bethany, who is 20 months old, so we've got to be strong. If it wasn't for them I don't think I would be standing right now.

“I need to thank all the people who have supported us and helped us and tell those people they are more than welcome to come on Friday.”

The service will be held at 3.45pm at the West Suffolk Crematorium in Risby. Donations should be made to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa). An inquest into Ethan's death has been opened and adjourned.