The pregnant aunt of blaze, death baby Alexander Gallon has spoken of her horror at being arrested on suspicion of his murder.

Kelly Ann Gallon, 21, of Kenton, Newcastle, was arrested hours after the four- month-old child died in a fire at his mother's home.

She was held in custody for 18 hours before being released without charge.

Mrs Gallon said she would never recover from the horrifying events of the past week.

She said: "When the police came, that was the first I heard of his death. I don't think anyone knows what I felt when I heard that my nephew had been killed and that I was being accused of doing it.

"I collapsed on the floor. I was devastated. He was my nephew and he was only a baby.

"I am a mother myself and I was just thinking that I would do anything to stop my baby getting hurt, anyone's baby getting hurt. The feeling I had inside was crushing."

At the time of Mrs Gallon's arrest, police were still looking for two men who had allegedly attacked Alexander's mother, Danielle Wails, 21, in her home in Link Road, Cowgate, Newcastle, before setting it alight and leaving her baby to die.

After a week of investigations, Ms Wails was formally charged with murder.

She appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court on Friday but did not enter a plea and spoke only to confirm her name and age.

Mrs Gallon, who is married to Stephen, 22, and has one daughter Demi-Lee, eight, is expecting her second child in April but says she can hardly bring herself to think about it.

She said: "I was really looking forward to April and all my motherly instincts were coming out, but now I'm not even looking forward to that.

"I feel sad for the baby coming into the world. Everyone will compare him or her to Alexander and the comparisons will be stronger if it's a boy.

"This has made me sick. It is all I can think about. Even when I am just sitting watching the television I think about it.

"The other day, all the family were round and I just had to leave the room to be on my own. I can't take it. The fact that people even suspected I could have killed Alexander is an horrendous thought. It is the worst thing that can happen to you."

Mrs Gallon's mother, Cindy Burrow, 44, said: "This is truly one of the worst things that can happen to you as a family - having your own daughter accused of having something to do with the death of a baby.

"All I want people to know is that my daughter is innocent and that she should not have been put through everything that she was.

"My deepest sympathy goes out to Robert (the baby's father) and his family because the pain they are going through must be terrible.