A HOSPITAL mix-up has forced an Abbey Wood mother to hold a second funeral for her seven-week-old son - 15 years after he died.

Police officers contacted Jennifer Ashton earlier this year to inform her the heart and rib cage of her seven-week-old son Joseph Harrington, were still being held by Guy's and St Thomas' hospital in London.

Joseph died as a result of a freak accident in Eastbourne, East Sussex, in 1998 when his step-dad tripped and fell on him.

Miss Ashton, who lives in Sewell Road, told News Shopper: "I had a knock on the door and the police came in and told me my son's heart, rib cage and other tissues were found at the hospital.

"I was told they were found in the back of a freezer.

"I've now just had to bury him all over again."

Miss Ashton, 35, said the police visit was "completely out of the blue, a total shock."

She said: "I had a total mental breakdown, I was totally crushed.

"Now I'm just going through the stages of grieving again."

Miss Ashton said she still refers to the hospital as Burke and Hare - a reference to the 19th century murderers who stole and sold corpses in Edinburgh.

She warned there are more families suffering because of how body parts were kept following autopsies.

She said: "If anybody else is going through this come forward, let everybody know, because the more people we get to come forward about this, the more chance we have of stopping it from ever happening again.

"As far as I'm concerned they're just body snatchers."

Guy's and St Thomas' hospital has had to contact the families of 23 deceased patients whose body parts had been retained by its pathology department.

The tissue samples and organs held on behalf of coroners and 12 police forces from around the country were kept at the forensic medicine department of nearby Kings College hospital until the unit closed in 2000.

They were then transferred to Guy's and St Thomas'.

The trust said in a statement: "Having carefully identified the samples and organs, last year Guy’s and St Thomas’ contacted the police forces involved.

"These police forces have then contacted families with our support when requested.

"Many other hospitals have undertaken a similar exercise as part of a national audit carried out by police forces.

"We would like to apologise to the family for the distress this situation has caused."

Sussex police confirmed Joseph's was one of 23 cases being dealt with by the force.

A spokeswoman said: "Joseph's mother thanked us for the information and asked us to assist in the return of the material to her which of course we willingly did.

"We also paid the funeral costs of £250."