LAST UPDATE | 2 Mar 2020

A TODDLER HAS died and a baby and their mother have sustained serious injuries at a house in Northern Ireland.

A woman aged in her 30s and the infant are receiving treatment in hospital, police said.

She is a nurse who had moved to the area in the last number of months, neighbours said.

Detectives are not seeking anybody else in connection with the death at the rural farmhouse some miles outside the Co Antrim town of Larne.

A PSNI statement said: “Police can confirm that an investigation has commenced into the circumstances surrounding the death of a young child in the Larne area today.

“A woman in her 30s and a baby are currently receiving hospital treatment for injuries.

“The investigation is at an early stage and police are currently not looking for anyone else in connection with the death.”

A major police and emergency services operation has centred on the property at Bankhill Road throughout today.

Neighbours heard a helicopter and saw police and ambulances this morning and initially thought it had been a farming accident.

A laneway to the property has been sealed off by officers and forensics experts are gathering evidence.

Neighbour Rhonda Kernohan said: “I heard the sirens and the helicopter, the air ambulance, came and it landed up at the back of the farm.

“We thought it was a farm accident but when we looked out there was a lot of shouting and a lot of police, a lot of ambulances about.”

She added: “This is a quiet, rural, peaceful area.”

Another neighbour said the woman who lived at the house was a “youngish girl”.

They added: “It was very sad. We are feeling absolutely awful, so sad it is terrible.

“The shock of it, when it happens nearly on your doorstep.”

The scene is at a house and outbuildings along a narrow lane high on a hillside overlooking Larne Lough, south of the port town of Larne.

White boilersuit-clad forensics experts combed the area for clues.

Another neighbour said: “It is an absolute shock. We thought it was a farming accident initially. It is a real tragedy.”