A campaigning coroner, whose warnings about parents sleeping with their infants have been credited with reducing baby deaths in Bradford, will retire next month.

But Roger Whittaker believes “for the sake of a few practicalities” even more lives could still be saved by parents avoiding co-sleeping.

He said although it was comforting that the number of baby deaths from over-lying, technically being suffocated, in parents’ beds had dropped since his warnings went national six years ago, he was still struck by the tragedies that continued to occur.

“It still alarms me in these days of the safety-conscious that there are beautiful little children with their lives before them just being wasted for the sake of a few practicalities,” said Mr Whittaker.

After leading more than 60,000 inquests and ordering more than 30,000 post-mortem examinations in his 15-year career as coroner, Mr Whittaker said it was the young deaths that perhaps haunted him the most.

“Young men in motor cars and drug deaths trouble me,” he said.

“Their friends come to inquests tearful and apparently take it as a lesson learned, but they still have this ‘it can’t happen to me’ attitude but of course it can – and sometimes does.”

Although Mr Whittaker officially retires on April 5, a successor has not been appointed and for a time he will deputise when needed.

Retirement will bring him more time to spend with his wife of 44 years, Elizabeth.

  • Read the full story in Friday's T&A