Woman arrested after boy's body found in car

The body was found in a car in in the Dunmore East area of County Waterford

A woman in her thirties has been arrested after the body of a six-year-old boy was found in a car in County Waterford.

It happened in the Dunmore East area slightly after midnight.

The woman was arrested near the scene and is being questioned in a local Garda (Irish police) station.

The boy's body has been removed so a post-mortem examination can be carried out.

Gardaí have said they are "investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the death".

It is understood that locals in the area were woken after midnight by the sounds of a woman in distress banging on doors and calling out.

Emergency services were then called.

A house down a rural country lane has now been cordoned off with a wider Garda cordon further down the road where media have gathered.

A recovery vehicle has also arrived to remove a car from the scene.

'An unimaginable tragedy'

Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, described the death as "an unimaginable tragedy”.

“The tight-knit community in Dunmore East will be devastated by this heart-breaking loss," he said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this deeply tragic loss.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the young boy as they navigate through this time of immense grief and sorrow.”

Local councillor Joe Kelly said the locality is in shock.

"It's a country area, it's a really rural area, sparsely populated," he said.

"I don't know any of the detail but I would add my shock and my sympathies."