A father told how he fought to save his three-year-old son's life after he was run down by a Ford Mondeo in an airport car park.

Rhys Hood had insisted on accompanying his father Neil to Gatwick to see his grandparents off on holiday.

Minutes after they arrived at the airport's North Terminal from their home in Trecastle, near Brecon in Wales, Rhys was hit by a car.

Builder Neil Hood, 27, told an inquest in Horsham he had been unpacking his parents' bags from the boot of his car on May 22 when his son stepped into a traffic lane from behind a parked car.

Mr Hood said he then heard three women shouting. He said: "I saw Rhys and then looked across and I could see the car. It seemed to accelerate and then I could see Rhys on the bonnet. I dropped the bags and ran."

Mr Hood said he desperately tried to revive his son.

He said: "I was giving him mouth-to-mouth. There was air going in but I think that was mine. Then the paramedics took over. After trying for a while, they put him on a stretcher and carried him to the ambulance."

Rhys's grandfather David Hood, 54, who had been going on holiday to Italy with his wife and some friends, told the inquest he saw the Mondeo strike the child, who was only about 3ft tall.

He said: "It carried him down the car park where he slipped under the front wheel. The car then proceeded to run over him. It just kept going."

Rhys, who was days away from his fourth birthday, died from multiple injuries, including a fractured skull.

Albert Marchment, from Essex, who was driving the Mondeo, said he spotted Rhys after hearing shouting.

He said: "He stopped right in front of me. I put my foot on the brake and my foot slipped and hit the accelerator."

Mr Marchment said he had been driving his wife's car and had been going at between five and 10mph.

The inquest heard he was a lorry driver with more than 20 years' experience.

Coroner Dr David Skipp recorded a verdict of accidental death.