A four-year-old Tregaron boy died from traumatic head injuries after pushing a vintage garden roller, an inquest has heard.

Maldwyn "Gwern" Evans was described by his family as a "keen little farmer" with a "captivating personality".

On 20 June he was found dead in the garden of his Tynreithin farm home.

In an inquest in Aberystwyth, Coroner Peter Brunton concluded that Gwern died from an accident in which "there was no human control", branding it a "personal tragedy of immense significance".

On 20 June emergency services were called to a Tynreithin farm near Tregaron at 4.30pm.

They arrived by air ambulance at 4.47pm where the boy was found on the patio where they diagnosed a traumatic cardiac arrest from catastrophic traumatic brain injury.

There had been no witnesses to the incident, as described by the written statement of Gwern's mum Sian Eleri Evans.

The statement read out by the coroner described that the children (Gwern and his sister) had arrived home from school at 3.55pm, had tea and had been given ice creams which they went outside to eat before her daughter came back inside.

The statement continued: "As I was in the kitchen I heard a thud and instantly thought it'd been the roller and ran out...

"I had never seen Gwern play with the roller before but he was quite inquisitive.

"I can imagine he thought he was rolling a field.

"He was strong and determined and if he wanted to do something I could imagine he would have got it moving.

"He hadn't seen us using it before but seen other machinery used on the farm."

The Victorian cast-iron handmade garden roller estimated to be between 50-60kg had been a garden ornament for two years before the incident occurred.

Though medics tried resuscitation at the scene, Gwern was unresponsive.

The post-mortem found basal skull fractures, abrasions to the right side of his face and a fractured right cheek bone extending to the skull.

There was no evidence of injury lower on his body, meaning the roller had not gone over him.

The coroner concluded the most likely scenario was that Gwern pushed the roller from behind and was carried forward as the roller began down the garden slope.

He concluded that Gwern was then flipped over by the roller on its landing on the patio, causing him to strike his head on the concrete.

Gwern’s family described him as a "loving son and a caring brother", adding that he "lived his short life to the fullest and will be remembered for his captivating personality", with "knowledge and ability beyond his years".

The inquest statement from Mrs Evans continued: "The loss is unimaginable, not only for myself, his father and sister but to my wider family and friends.

"This is shown in the fundraising done in his name to go to the Welsh Air Ambulance and his school to create a school farm."

The coroner concluded: "On the balance of probabilities Gwern had indeed been able to push the roller from behind using the handle like anyone else would.

"The supposition must be that Gwern held onto it, possibly realising what was going on... Had he let go we may not be here this afternoon.

"His pluckiness therefore may have played a hand in this."

Closing the case, he said: "The loss of a child is the most devastating thing that can happen to a parent.

"It is every parent's nightmare to outlive your children.

"I can only offer you my most profound condolences and sympathies.

"I hope that now you have the inquest behind you life can proceed as normally as possible."