MOTHER-to-be Helen Hooper is having to foot the bill for a £302 baby scan - which is carried out free of charge in other parts of the country.

Because she is over 35, Ms Hooper, from Durham City, was advised by her hospital doctors that she should consider having an advanced nuchal translucency scan.

Women aged over 35 have an increased risk of having a baby with either a physical or mental handicap, including one of the most common genetic abnormalities, Down's syndrome.

The ultrasound scan, combined with a sophisticated blood test, checks for any sign of abnormalities, such as Down's syndrome, and is carried out 11 weeks into the pregnancy.

Other tests are available later in the pregnancy but involve passing a needle into the abdomen, which carries a small risk of miscarriage. Ms Hooper, 37, agreed to have the combined scan and blood test and paid the £302 bill.

But she was outraged when told by friends in other parts of the country that the same test was available free of charge in other NHS hospitals.

Ms Hooper, who had her scan and blood test at the University Hospital of North Durham in Durham City, said contacts had told her that the same test was provided free at hospitals in Southampton, Leicester and in some areas of London.

Last night, a Department of Health spokesman confirmed that it was up to the local NHS hospital trust to decide whether to offer the scan and blood test as part of the core NHS service or to charge women privately.

Ms Hooper, who works at Northumbria University, in Newcastle, said: "Luckily I can actually afford to pay this fee. However, I really do think it is disgraceful that mothers in high risk categories might be forced into making decisions regarding their health and the health of their babies because of their limited finances.

"There is a narrow window of opportunity to have this test and you have to make a snap decision. I was told that I had a one in 240 risk of an abnormality and there is no question that it is worth doing."

A spokeswoman for the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Durham City hospital, confirmed that the scan and blood test offered to Ms Hooper is only available privately.