THE death of a baby girl which occurred almost two years ago cannot be explained, a coroner has concluded.

An inquest was held on Tuesday into the death of 13-month-old Poppi Iris Worthington, who died on December 12, 2012.

Coroner Ian Smith told the hearing that a two-week High Court case had been heard which had found the cause of the tot's death could not be ascertained.

He said it would be 'inappropriate' to come to a different conclusion and recorded an open verdict.

The case has been subject to a strict gagging order and the location of Poppi's death cannot be published, other than that it was in Cumbria.

A criminal investigation is ongoing and Cumbria Police have confirmed a 46-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman have been arrested, but remain on conditional police bail until December 17.

This week the Independent Police Complaint's Commission (IPCC) confirmed it is also conducting an investigation into the way Cumbria Constabulary 'handled' the investigation.

A spokesman said: "The IPCC is examining whether the force's investigation was conducted thoroughly and appropriately and whether investigative opportunities to obtain key evidence in the investigation were identified and appropriately acted upon.

"On 18 July, 2014, three officers were served with gross misconduct notices informing them that their conduct was under investigation."