A WOMAN has been arrested on suspicion of child neglect, after a four-year-old boy was found dead in a tumble dryer.

Sonny Gibson disappeared from the garden of his home in Derbyshire, England, on July 26 during a game of hide-and-seek.

His mother, Anne Gibson, immediately contacted the police, and a large scale search operation was launched.

But within an hour, his distraught mother – who was accompanied by a police officer – had discovered his body in the tumble dryer of the family home.

Sky News is reporting that a 41-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the care of Sonny, but not on charges relating to his death.

Sonny was the second child to be found dead inside a tumble dryer in recent years.

Five years ago, the body of a three-year-old British child, Georgina Bywater, was also found in a tumble dryer.

Following the tragedy, her grandparents, Steve and Janet Woodall, launched a campaign to have child safety locks fitted to the doors of domestic appliances.