Olivia Hicks run over by mother's car in Biggleswade
A four-year-old girl playing hide and seek on her grandmother's driveway was accidentally run over by her mother's reversing car, an inquest has heard.
Olivia Hicks was trapped under the car for nearly an hour before being freed by firefighters at Coppice Mead in Biggleswade on 20 February.
She died as a result of a catastrophic brain injury five days later.
The Bedford inquest was told Olivia's grandmother believed she had run into the house.
'Out of sight'
Coroner's officer Graham Wright told the hearing: "The mother dropped her daughter off with her grandmother.
"The grandmother removed the child from the car and, unseen, the child hid behind the car playing hide and seek.
"The grandmother spoke to her daughter and assumed Olivia had gone inside.
"Her mother reversed the car and Olivia was trapped underneath."
The inquest was told the car had moved less than three metres.
PC Alan Kemp said: "If Olivia was close to the rear of the car, she would be completely out of sight of the driver.
"She toppled as the car passed over her and the weight of the car came upon Olivia."
'Chatty and clever'
Bedfordshire Coroner David Morris recorded that Olivia died as a result of injuries sustained in a motor accident.
He said: "As the car came down the slope, it compressed on to her.
"If the driveway had been level it might have passed over her."
The Bedfordshire Coroner recorded the verdict that Olivia died from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident.
Mrs Quigley-Hicks, a local government officer, and her investment adviser husband Simon, both 34 and who lived with Olivia nearby in London Road, were not at the brief hearing.
In a statement, Olivia's family said: "Olivia was a cheeky, chatty and clever little girl who has left us, our family, friends and everyone who knew her, with amazing memories that will never fade.
"We miss her every day."
Chris Greenhall, headteacher of Southlands Lower School in Biggleswade, where Olivia was a pupil, said the school hoped to create a lasting tribute to her.