POLICE investigating the death of a toddler are looking into the possibility he accidentally took a drugs overdose.

The boy, who would have been two next month, was found unconscious and not breathing at his North-East home yesterday morning.

His mother called an ambulance, but the youngster, who is not being named, died a short while later in hospital.

Police were called by staff at the University Hospital of Hartlepool. A post-mortem examination was carried out yesterday afternoon, but it was not conclusive.

The Northern Echo understands methadone - a heroin substitute used by addicts to wean them off the drug - was in the terraced house.

But police could not confirm whether the drug was responsible for the boy's death.

A source said: "There is no way we can know at this stage, and there is a real chance we won't know what the cause of death is for some time - until we get the results of lots of tests back.

"There is methadone in the house, but whether or not the child took any, we simply don't know. There was no sign of that."

It is believed the boy had been sleeping downstairs with his 23-year-old mother when he was discovered.

An ambulance was called to the house in Rodney Street, Hartlepool, at 6.40am and arrived four minutes later.

A police guard was stationed outside the house yesterday.

The boy's mother, 33-year-old father, and three-year-old sister were being comforted by relatives.

A neighbour said: "The baby was such a canny little thing. I've seen him out and about in his pushchair. It's such a shame."