A report by the Health Service Ombudsman says staff in the unit missed 30 warning signs during Alwyn Callaway's birth.

The report describes the case as 'indefensible' and says Alwyn would have survived if he had been delivered earlier.

He was eventually delivered with forceps but only survived two days despite being transferred to a specialist hospital.

West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust paid out an undisclosed sum in damages to the Callaways last year in an out of court settlement.

Mum Lisa Callaway said: "You are so trusting when it is your first baby. You don't question things.

"I thought everything was normal and the staff kept saying they were happy with the labour.

"As far as I was concerned my baby had been killed by his horrific and brutal delivery."

Mrs Callaway, 41, who now lives in Wales, gave birth to Alwyn in 2004 and has since had two more children.

She and her husband William only realised their son had been in distress for seven hours when they received a copy of the medical notes.

When the trust failed to admit mistakes or apologise the couple went to the Ombudsman.

The trust has offered its condolences to the family and says an action plan was drawn up in light of the Ombudsman's criticism.

Medical director Graham Ramsay said: "We strive to improve the standards of care we provide for women and their babies and you have my assurance that lessons learned from the death of baby Alwyn have been put in place.

"Any death is one too many, as the case of Alwyn so poignantly reminds us, but fewer babies die in our maternity unit than in virtually any other unit in the country.

"We are determined to keep it that way."

The Healthcare Commission has ranked Watford's maternity department among the worst in the country.

Since full maternity services closed in Hemel Hempstead in 2002 women have been forced to go to Watford to give birth.

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