AS hospital chiefs investigate the deaths of three babies in two weeks at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, another heartbroken woman has vowed never to use the hospital's maternity department again after losing twins.

Stella Perkins and her partner, Michael Bate, are in the process of making a formal complaint against Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust after they claimed staff there failed to pick up on a condition which eventually led to the deaths of their daughters, Sophie Jane and Chloe Anne.

Miss Perkins, 31, of Hoo Road, Kiddermin-ster, began suffering pain two and a half weeks before they died and claimed she was "brushed off" by staff at the hospital who told her there was nothing wrong with her babies on two occasions.

Miss Perkins explained she started to suffer pains 24 weeks into her pregnancy on May 6 - the day after a private four-dimensional scan had shown her babies were well.

A couple of days later she visited the out of hours service at the Primary Care Centre at Kidderminster Hospital and was told she was suffering "normal maternity pains".

She was in so much pain that evening - Sunday, May 8 - that she went to the maternity ward at Worcestershire Royal, where she was told she was suffering a kidney infection, although a scan of her kidneys and a urine sample showed no sign of infection. She was told the babies' heartbeats were fine.

Upon returning home, her pain increased and she phoned Worcestershire Royal again, where she claims staff instructed her to go back through the Primary Care Centre.

The following day a scan revealed that one of her babies had grown more than the other and she was suffering Twin To Twin Transferral Syndrome.

Miss Perkins was told she would be transferred to Birmingham Women's Hospital where a consultant told her that her condition was in the most severe stage and she had three options - to terminate one baby, both babies or undergo surgery in the hope of saving them.

Miss Perkins claimed the consultant, who was "brilliant", said her twins would have had a 90 to 95 per cent chance of survival if the condition had been detected when her pains started.

She was sent home after the operation but went into labour three days later and went back to Worcestershire Royal, where a scan revealed one of her babies was dead.

She was sent by ambulance to Birmingham Women's Hospital where her surviving baby also died upon delivery.

Miss Perkins contacted the Shuttle/Times & News after reading last week's front-page story about Kelly Hart's agony at losing her unborn son earlier this month.

She said she and Mr Bate were seeking advice from ICAS about how to make a formal complaint about the hospital after a meeting with Wyre Forest MP, Dr Richard Taylor.

She explained: "I'm still very numb really and can't believe what happened ... I felt as though I was being ignored at Worcester and making too much of the pain I was in.

"Now that I know there was something seriously wrong I feel so angry and upset because I feel I was just brushed off."

As she and Mr Bates attempt to come to terms with the loss of their first children, devastated 31-year-old Miss Perkins vowed: "If I get pregnant again I will never go back to Worcestershire Royal Hospital."

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust spokeswoman, Janet Marie Clarke, said: "We would like to express our sincere condolences to Miss Perkins and Mr Bate and realise how distressed they must feel.

"We would encourage them to contact us so that we can look into the concerns that Miss Perkins has and respond to her directly."