A MUM has been arrested for allegedly feeding her baby poisoned milk.

The 36-year-old was held by police on suspicion of child cruelty after staff at Colchester General Hospital alerted social services.

It is understood the child was admitted to hospital last month after falling ill and losing weight. Subsequent tests on one of the baby’s bottles allegedly found traces of acid in the milk.

The woman has been released on police bail until November 6 pending further inquiries. Her partner, who did not wish to be named, completely denied the accusation and said they both believed their son had a milk intolerance which has not been properly investigated and could have also affected his older brother.

He said social services intervened last year after the boy’s one-year-old brother fell ill under similar circumstances.

“It seems like a case of de ja vu,” he said.

“The same thing happened last year with my other child when he wasn’t feeding.

“We were cleared then of any wrong doing.

“This time they have gone a step further and arrested mum and taken all of the children into care.”

He claimed the baby had been in hospital for about three weeks before police made the arrest on August 23.

He added: “The allegations are totally ludicrous and ridiculous.

“They said of three bottles in the fridge, one had a different PH balance, which meant something acidic had been in or around the bottle.

“I believe they couldn’t find what was really wrong, so they have put the blame on us.

“It’s a horrendous thing to happen to any family.

“Mum is keeping it together, but she has been quite upset. It’s the worst scenario you could imagine.”

A spokesman for Colchester’s hospital trust said: “This is a police matter and we will not comment any further.”