A TEN-YEAR-OLD boy died after he was found hanged in woods, police said yesterday. Officers said the youngster’s death was a tragic accident.

There are believed to be no suspicious circumstances.

Police made the grim discovery after searching Hutton Woods, near Guisborough, east Cleveland, on Saturday.

The boy, who is from the local area, was taken to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where he was pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination carried out yesterday afternoon concluded that the youngster died as a result of hanging.

People living in Hutton Village, which backs on to the woods, last night spoke of seeing emergency services early on Saturday.

One villager, who did not wish to be named, said: “I heard the police helicopter overhead and saw search and rescue teams going down the road, but I haven’t heard what was going on.

“With it being a small village I think we would have known if it involved someone from around here.”

Another resident, who lives near the access to the woods, said: “We saw the emergency services going past at about 8am.”

Detective Sergeant Lewis Matthews, of Redcar and Cleveland CID, said: “The boy’s death appears to be a tragic accident and obviously his family are devastated by what has happened.

“Inquiries are ongoing, but we do not believe the death to be suspicious.”

Councillor Graham Jeffery, who represents the Hutton ward on Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said he and his partner had witnessed police activity, including a helicopter, over the woods earlier on Saturday morning.

Coun Jeffery, a Farmwatch scheme co-ordinator, said he often walked his dog through the woods and had walked through the area over the weekend.

He said: “You get people walking through there all the time. It is not unsafe and you don’t get a lot of anti-social behaviour.”

Police are expected to reveal further details about the boy’s death today.