THE three-year-old grandson of a Clyro couple was killed last Saturday morning in a Gatwick Airport car park. Toddler Rhys Hood had gone with his father and younger sister to wave his grandparents off on holiday.

David and Yvonne Hood, who run Clyro's Post Office, were due to fly to Spain and had driven to the airport early that morning. It was while Rhys's father, Neil, was unloading suitcases and bags from the car that Rhys is believed to have run out from between the parked cars into the path of an oncoming car.

Paramedics tried desperately to save Rhys.

"We struggled to save him but he had very bad injuries and unfortunately was certified dead on arrival at the East Surrey Hospital in Redhill," said a spokesman for Surrey Ambulance NHS Trust.

"All sudden deaths are tragic, but when a child is involved it hits the crews harder. This was a very upsetting incident."

Rhys's mother, Ruth, who had stayed at home, was told of her son's death by police.

Part of the car park was closed while police investigations were carried out, and the driver of the car was helping police with inquiries into the accident.

"Everybody is simply devastated, wiped out," said Jane Davies, who works at Clyro School.

"Nobody can really take it on board."

Rhys, who went to Talgarth County Primary School, was a frequent visitor to his grandparents' home.

"He was a sweet little lad," said Jane Davies. "We all went to the shop to get our paper and he was sometimes there with his nan, a lively little thing."