A 10-year-old Boy Scout accidentally hanged himself while practicing knot tying for a merit badge.

AJ Underwood was found hanging from the top bunk in his bedroom in Oneonta, Alabama, on Friday night.

The family was heading to a birthday party when the boy's mother went to check on him.

Tragically, she found him hanging from the same rope he had been given to practice knot tying, police said.

Tragic: AJ Underwood, 10, accidentally hanged himself from his bunk bed with a rope he had been given to practice knot tying for a Boy Scout merit badge

Investigators said they believed AJ (pictured with his mother), who was 'in good spirits', hanged himself by accident on Friday

His mother got him down and ran outside screaming for help. Neighbors began CPR until paramedics arrived, but they could not resuscitate him, the New York Daily News reported.

AJ was taken to St. Vincent's Blount hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It is believed that his death was instant.

Investigators believe AJ's death was a freak accident.

Oneonta Police Chief James Chapman said: 'There's absolutely nothing to indicate he did this on purpose. He had been in good spirits, he was making good grades.'

The 10-year-old's aunt, Dana Wiesman, told WBRC: 'We had been learning how to tie rope, tie knots in ropes in Boy Scouts. He came into the house and had unpacked his Boy Scout bag, and he went in his room and was apparently playing with the rope and slipped and got caught in it.

'It's unreal, it really was, it still is. I still expect him to come running out to play with the kids.

'He's a mama's boy. She needs him more than he ever needed her. He took care of things. He was always smiling and happy. He would do anything for anybody. He's the best kid I have ever known.

'We will never be able to say thank you enough for everything that everybody in this community has done for us. We will never be able to say thank you enough.'

Amazing: In a tribute to AJ on a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for his funeral, his family said he would 'be missed by so many'

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family to raise $20,000 for AJ's funeral and they have made just under half of that figure.

A short statement on the page says: 'AJ was killed in a freak accident this past Friday night in the small town of Oneonta, AL.

'The outpouring of support from our small town and the surrounding communities has been absolutely amazing. You are all appreciated more than you will ever know.

'AJ was the most amazing young man and will be missed by so many.'