AN inquest into the tragic death of a “kind, thoughtful and fun-loving” little boy was opened yesterday.

Jasper Bryan Cook died suddenly in January, leaving his family and the tight-knit community of his home village of Birkenshaw devastated.

A short hearing at Bradford Coroners' Court was told Jasper died at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

He had been seen by an out of hours GP after being sick and suffering abdominal pain.

Then early on January 21, he became very unwell at home. Paramedics were called and Jasper was found to be in cardiac arrest.

CPR was carried out and Jasper was taken to hospital where lifesaving efforts continued, but despite the best efforts of medics he was pronounced dead at 7.10am.

Assistant coroner Ian Pears adjourned the inquest until August to allow statements and reports to be prepared.

Jasper's parents Kim and Ian spoke to the Telegraph & Argus about their heartbreaking loss.

They said their much-loved son, a pupil at Birkenshaw Primary School and who they described as a "normal healthy child" had tested positive for Covid in the days before he died, but his death had come out of the blue.

Paying tribute, Kim, 39, said: “He was funny, cheeky, all he wanted was cuddles. He loved snuggles. He was a Lego fanatic.

“He was a big supporter of Formula 1 and Lewis Hamilton, we spent lots of time snuggled on the sofa watching F1 and also Watford FC due to Granpa being a lifelong supporter.”

“Everybody said his smile lit up the room. He was gorgeous. It’s devastating.

“We would not wish this on our worst enemy, on anybody, it’s like a living nightmare.

“It should not happen to an eight-year-old.”

Ian, 40, added: “There’s a huge Jasper-shaped hole, it’s never going to be filled.

“Words just can’t really express the loss that we are feeling.”

Jasper's school is to develop an emotional wellbeing garden in his memory, which will be called Jasper’s Wellbeing Garden.

“This will be a place for reflection and contemplation and will be a lasting legacy to such an amazing young man,” said the school.

More than £7,000 has been raised which will be donated to charity and used for a permanent memorial.

Scores of tributes were left on the fundraising page, remembering Jasper's "big smile" and one from Emma Harrison said it had been a pleasure knowing him and "the joy, kindness, fun, beaming smile and lovely voice that graced the classroom".