THE parents of a seven-week-old baby yesterday told an inquest of their anguish after finding the little boy dead in their bed.

Callum Cooke died on March 31, at home, in Boswell Street, Middlesbrough.

The child was born prematurely by emergency caesarian section, weighing 2lb 7oz, and spent the first five weeks of his life in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.

He was eventually allowed to go home with parents Stuart Cooke, 31, and Mandy Rae, 19.

Miss Rae told Teesside deputy coroner Tony Eastwood that she fed Callum at about midnight on March 30 and then put him to sleep in his Moses basket beside the couple's bed.

Mr Cooke woke at about 7.45am and discovered the baby was not in the basket.

He shouted to Miss Cooke 'where is the baby?', to which she replied 'he is in his cot'.

Callum was found lying under the duvet in the middle of the couple's bed.

Mr Cooke said: "I looked at him and thought 'he's dead'. He was white and was blue around his mouth."

Despite resuscitation attempts by Mr Cooke, paramedics and hospital staff, Callum was pronounced dead at 8.23am.

In a statement read out by Mr Eastwood, Miss Rae said: "I must have lifted him into the bed during the night, but I can't remember doing it or why I would have done it. There is no other explanation for him being in the bed with us."

She added: "Since losing Callum, I have felt empty and numb.

"We called him our little warrior.

"I miss him so much."

The inquest heard evidence from Home Office pathologist Mark Egan and Detective Sergeant Keith Dee, of Cleveland Police, that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Callum's death.

Mr Eastwood recorded a verdict of death by natural causes