The parents of the three-year-old boy found face down in a neighbour’s pond at Dover at the weekend have paid tribute to their "little man".

Police were alerted at 11.45am on Saturday when Freddie Watmough was reported missing from his home at Victoria Street, off Coombe Valley Road, in Dover.

Officers began a search of the area and called at neighbouring homes.

It was in a garden at nearby Erith Street that officers found the toddler face down in a garden pond.

A police officer tried to revive him and he was taken to the William Harvey Hospital at Ashford but was certified dead.

Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

Freddie’s parents, Leanne Beardmore and Philip Watmough, said there were no words to describe how they were feeling.

"We can’t even begin to imagine life without our little man. We love and miss him so, so much and would give anything to hear him, see him and feel him again."

The couple said they would like to thank everyone who tried to save their "gorgeous little boy.

Full story in this week's Dover Mercury.