A three-year-old boy has drowned in a swimming pool at a gym in Leeds, West Yorkshire police said.

Officers were called to the David Lloyd club at about 9.45am on Saturday, following a report that a child had drowned. He was taken to Leeds general infirmary where he was later pronounced dead.

Police said they were investigating the circumstances that led to his “drowning-related injuries”, but the incident was being treated as an accident and they appealed for anyone who was in the pool at the time to contact them.

DI James Entwistle said: “This appears to be a tragic accident and our thoughts are with the boy’s family at this extremely difficult time.

“While there is nothing to suggest that the death was suspicious, we do have a duty to investigate the circumstances of what has happened.

“We understand that there were a number of people in the pool at the time who have left the area prior to police arriving at the scene. We would ask these people to come forward to give their accounts of what they have seen and heard.”

The pool remained closed on Saturday afternoon.