A SIX-year-old boy shot dead with a pellet gun died from a hole to the side of his stomach, a coroner heard today.

Footie-made Stanley Metcalf was fatally injured at a home in Sproatley, East Yorks on July 26.

The boy, who police said was visiting family, was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, where he died at around 5.30pm the same day.

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Hull Coroners Court today.

A post-mortem examination carried out on July 30 had revealed the boy's cause of death to be "airgun projectile wound to abdomen".

No family members were present during the brief hearing overseen by senior coroner Professor Paul Marks.

Giving evidence, Detective Sergeant Julian Gibbs, of Humberside Police, said that the force were called to the scene of the incident after receiving a call from the ambulance service.

He said: "Upon examination by family members, Stanley Metcalf was found to have a small hole to the side of the abdomen."

Shortly after his death, the force said early indications pointed to it being a "tragic accident involving a pellet gun".

Det Sgt Gibbs revealed that an investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing and is still "at the early stages".

Adjourning the inquest for a date to be set, Professor Marks described the Stanley's passing as "sad and tragic".

Stanley's heartbroken 84-year-old grandmother described him as a "brainy, kind little boy" in a heartbreaking tribute.

In a tribute shortly after his death, she described Stanley as a "massive football fan", and said he and his twin sister were "extremely close".

She added: "His sister absolutely loved him to bits and they would do everything together. I don't know how you're supposed to explain things like that to a six-year-old girl.

"I've just been in floods of tears ever since it happened, I couldn't even sleep last night, just thinking about him and how tragic it all is."

Anti-gun campaigners said Stanley's tragic death should be a wake-up call for action to be taken to make airguns illegal without a licence.

A spokesperson for UK Gun Control Network said: "Once again, we are faced with yet another death of a child and we're not even into the first week of the Summer holidays.

"This is an appalling, very sad and completely unnecessary incident which happened in Sproatley yesterday.

"Airguns need to be licenced in England. Fullstop.

"If Britain had these laws then the gun would have been locked away and just like other rifles and shotguns, a licence and medical certificate would have to be provided for people being allowed to keep them.

"How many more children are going to die playing around with airguns?"