AN inquest is to be held into the death of a two-year-old girl who is thought to have swallowed toilet cleaner.

Arietta-Grace Barnett died on July 9 last year after an incident at the family home in Addison Road, Sarisbury Green.

A pre-inquest review hearing held in Portsmouth today heard that police investigated her death.

Area coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said it was a "very sad case" involving a little girl who was thought to have ingested toilet cleaner.

The incident occurred on June 28 last year. Arietta-Grace was taken to Southampton General Hospital and was later deemed well enough to be discharged.

However, she was readmitted to hospital as an emergency and staff were unable to save her.

Ms Rhodes-Kemp said the inquest would focus on how Arietta-Grace came to ingest the cleaner and the treatment she received at hospital.

Witnesses will include consultant pathologist Dr Samantha Holden, who carried out a post-mortem examination.

"I don't normally call consultant pathologists but given the nature of this little girl's death I think I would like to call Dr Holden to clarify certain points," said Ms Rhodes-Kemp.

The inquest, which is expected to take two days, will take place in Winchester later this year or early in 2021.

It will be held not in Winchester Coroner's Court but in the neighbouring council chamber, which will be large enough to enable everyone present to comply with social distancing.

At an earlier hearing senior coroner Christopher Wilkinson said: “It appears Arietta-Grace may have died as a result of ingesting chemicals at the family home, specifically products in relation to bathroom cleaning material.

“That has yet to be confirmed by a paediatric post-mortem.”

At the same hearing Dr Holden said the preliminary cause of death was a haemorrhage from an aorto-oesophageal fistula associated with an oesophageal ulceration.