A mum-to-be was told she had lost her baby only to find her child was still alive just minutes before she was due to have surgery to clear her womb.

Adele Beecham was given the devastating news after she had undergone an initial scan at Bradford Royal Infirmary six weeks into her pregnancy.

She said the error only came to light the following day after the couple insisted on a second scan.

Miss Beecham, 24, who had already been through one miscarriage in January, said: "I was told that when the pregnancy had started it had stopped itself and nothing had grown. They said the pregnancy had failed and there was no baby.

"I was told I could go home to miscarry or have surgery, so I opted for the surgery the next day."

But the distraught mum insisted on another scan, just before she was due to undergo surgery, which showed her baby was alive and well.

She said: "I demanded another scan because my partner said he had seen something on the first scan. It took a very long time and then I was told the baby was there. I was told I was six weeks pregnant."

She said hospital staff had let her have the second scan for her own peace of mind before the operation.

She said: "I was about to go into surgery to have my womb cleaned. If I had not asked for another scan they would have sent me for surgery. If I had gone into surgery I wouldn't have known anything different.

"I was distraught when I was told the baby was not there. I was heartbroken. I have been down that road before. I was up all night crying and feel like I've been to hell and back."

Miss Beecham made a formal complaint to the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs BRI, after her ordeal last week. No one from the Trust was today willing to comment in detail on the case citing patient confidentiality.

Miss Beecham's partner, John Cawley, who accompanied her to her first hospital appointment, said: "I did not really believe it when we were told Adele had miscarried. I saw something on the screen in the first scan and as soon as we left that room I told Adele to get a second scan.

"It was like being hit by a car when the nurse told me the baby was not there. I am furious. You would think they would take more care. It was 24 hours of hell."

The couple, of Barkerend, have been trying to conceive for a year and the baby is their first child together.

Miss Beecham praised nursing staff in the hospital's gynaecology ward where she was sent after the initial scans but said she was furious about the results of the first scan.

"I was overjoyed my baby was not dead," she said. "But I am fuming now about what happened. I was on a ward full of women who had had miscarriages and trying not to act overjoyed because I didn't want to rub it in.

"I was told a manager would come and see me but then I was told they would not be available for another hour. My partner was so angry we went home and no-one from the Trust has been in touch since."

A Trust spokesman said today: "Due to patient confidentiality we are unable to comment on individual cases. However, we can confirm that we have received a letter of complaint which we will be investigating fully, and will report back to the patient directly."