Poppi Worthington could finally see justice after it emerged that the coroner who investigated her death has asked prosecutors to reconsider the case.

The 13-month-old was sexually assaulted by her father just hours before she suffocated in his double bed, David Roberts, senior coroner for Cumbria ruled this week.

Despite it being the third inquiry which concluded Paul Worthington had abused his daughter, it was feared that police blunders and lost evidence meant that he could never be prosecuted.

However, hopes were raised when Mr Roberts revealed that he had formally referred his decision to the CPS.

Pressure on the the service was further intensified when a former Principal Legal Advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said that it was "understandable" that they would want to look at it again and a senior prosecutor noted that circumstantial evidence is "often the strongest".

The CPS and the chief constable of Cumbria confirmed they are re-examining the case, but prosecutors said that the decision had not yet been made to carry out a formal charging review.

John Woodcock, the Labour MP for Barrow-in Furness where Poppi was living when she died in December 2012, said that news provided "hope but not expectation" given the history of failure.