A FAMILY are demanding an apology from health chiefs after receiving a letter inviting their dead baby son for a hearing test.

Kieron Pouton died of heart problems aged seven days, in November 1997, after being born prematurely.

His parents, Dawn and Steven, of Holly Park, Brandon, County Durham, were shocked and upset when a letter addressed to him arrived on Friday.

Mrs Pouton said: "I can't understand how this has happened after four-and-a-half years. This is the first letter we have had for him.

"All my details are on file. I have been at the same clinic for the same test on my other two children, so they should know we lost Kieron.

"It has upset the whole family. We can't understand why we got this letter.

"Why send one after four-and-a-half years when Kieron would be due to go to school."

She said that the hand-written envelope mis-spelled Kieron, that the surname was not fully legible, but that the address and postcode were correct.

The family have sent a letter of complaint, asking for an explanation of the mistake and an apology.

"We just don't want to go through this again,'' said Mrs Pouton, who has a son, Ryan, five, and daughter, Kirsty, three.

A spokeswoman for the Durham and Chester-le-Street Primary Care Trust (PCT) said the error may have happened because of an unfortunate coincidence and that the letter was meant for another child.

"We deeply regret any distress that has been caused.

"However, early investigations indicate that the letter was addressed to another baby boy with a similar name, the same street name and house number in another village, who was registered with the same GP practice.

"The PCT is awaiting the return of the letter so that its investigations can be completed."