Girl, 5, with head stuck in lift dies in Weymouth

Emergency services were called to a house in Emmadale Close shortly before midday

A five-year-old girl died when her head became stuck in a lift in a house in Weymouth.

Firefighters and paramedics were called to Emmadale Close in the Dorset town shortly before midday, police said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene. Dorset Police said an investigation was under way to establish the circumstances surrounding the death.

The girl's family has been informed and the coroner notified. The street, which had been cordoned off, has reopened.

The property where the incident took place is a two-storey house with a disabled ramp outside.

Floral tributes have been left outside the house

A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue said the service received an alert at 11:52 BST to a young child trapped in a lift.

"Crews from Weymouth and Portland attended the scene, assisting the ambulance service and police.

"Once the lift was stabilised, the child was removed using small specialist cutting equipment," he said.

A Dorset County Council spokeswoman confirmed the authority had not installed the lift at the property.

"It was existing equipment at the house when the family moved in," she said.

At the scene

Chris Robinson, BBC South Today reporter

The community in this quiet road in Weymouth is still coming to terms with the death of the five-year-old girl.

One of the little girl's friends has laid flowers outside a house in Emmadale Close as the tragic news continues to shock those living nearby.

Two officers are currently standing outside the property - understandably neighbours are too upset to talk.

The incident happened in a residential area of the seaside resort