THE family of a baby who died after developing meningitis have urged parents and doctors to be more aware of the symptoms.

Seven-month-old Luke Hanratty died on Friday, two days after his parents realised he was ill.

At first doctors thought Luke, from Ferryhill, County Durham, had a simple infection. When it became clear he had meningitis it was too late to save him.

Luke's parents realised he was ill on New Year's Day when he had a temperature and was listless.

They took him to Bishop Auckland General Hospital where they were told he might be developing an infection. The couple were advised to take him back the following day if he became worse.

Luke's condition deteriorated and they decided to take him back later the same night.

A doctor said he thought Luke had an ear and throat infection, prescribed antibiotics and sent him home again.

Luke's mother, Kerry Watson, looked in on him in the early hours of the morning. She said: "I picked him up out of his cot and noticed he had a mark on his face. I switched the light on and he had a rash all over him. That's when we called the ambulance."

Fearing it might be meningitis, Luke was rushed to hospital, but doctors said he only had hours to live.

He was transferred to Newcastle General Hospital where he received more emergency treatment, but died at about 3pm on Friday.

His father, Geoff Hanratty, said: "It was just devastating. Words cannot describe how we felt, it was just heartache."

Luke's parents will never know what the outcome would have been had the symptoms been spotted earlier, but they urged parents and doctors to get as much information as possible.

Ms Watson, who praised the efforts of hospital staff, said: "The problem is, it's so difficult to diagnose, especially in the early stages, until you see the rash and by then it was too late to do anything

"A lot of the information says the quicker you can get it diagnosed, the quicker you can get the treatment started and the better the chances. It would be nice if we could raise awareness of the problem amongst parents, but also GPs."

The funeral will be held in St Luke's Church, Ferryhill, at 9.45am on Friday. The family have asked for donations to be made to the Meningitis Research Foundation