A mother-of-four is set to take legal action after becoming pregnant for a fifth time - despite believing she had been sterilised.

Lisa Fenner with her children Dillon, Owen, Briana, and baby Calvina

Lisa Fenner, 24, of Colchester, said she was "disgusted and shocked" to learn she was six weeks' pregnant just three months after the birth of her fourth baby.

She claims she signed a consent form to be sterilised at the same time as doctors at Colchester General Hospital carried out a Caesarean delivery on her last child.

Now Miss Fenner, with her partner David Beckingham, has sought legal advice and faces an agonising decision over the future of her pregnancy.

A spokesman for Essex Rivers NHS Healthcare Trust said: "It would be highly unusual for a woman to make a decision to have a sterilisation at the same time as a caesarean section."

He added: "As far as I am aware Miss Fenner has not been in touch with the Trust and I would ask her to get in contact so that we can find out all the details and look into what has happened. A full investigation will take place."

For the full story read today's Evening Gazette

Published Tuesday January 15, 2002