A six-year-old girl who was tragically found lifeless in a harbour has been described as "chatty and friendly".

Little Dajahnel Young, from Erith in south east London, was discovered on a sandbank almost an hour after she went missing on July 28.

An inquest into her death has revealed she had been told not to go back into the sea when she last spoke to a woman called Cynthia Robinson about going to the toilet.

Speaking after the hearing, family friend Trey Agbesi told the Evening Standard: "She was a very playful, active girl. She would never sit still.

"She was always so full of life, very chatty and friendly.

“It was a huge shock to everyone. My daughter is a similar age so they were little playmates.

"Everyone in the community couldn’t understand what had happened.”

A funeral for Dajahnel was at Bensham Hall in Thornton Heath a fortnight after her death

"It was like a birthday party," Ms Agbesi added.

"It was beautiful, full of kids and like a celebration. The hall was filled to capacity.

"Everyone wore pink and white and T-shirts with Dajahnel’s picture on them. There were pictures of her on the tables and on balloons.

"Lots of the children and adults carried single white roses. It was only towards the end that it hit me and I felt sad. It was just perfect at the church."

Emergency crews were called to the Margate beach shortly after 3pm and CPR was carried out at the scene and in the ambulance as it headed to the QEQM Hospital.

But the efforts of the medics proved in vain and the youngster was pronounced dead.

Jean Beswick, the owner of BeBeached restaurant on the harbour arm, said the incident was the most harrowing thing she has ever witnessed.

“I just could not believe what we were seeing,” she said. “Everybody was in tears afterwards.

“The paramedics were so brilliant and spent about half-an-hour trying to save her.”

A post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Simi George revealed the cause of death as immersion

The hearing at Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone was adjourned by assistant coroner Georgina Gibbs and will be reopened in December.