A DEVASTATED mother is demanding answers after her son died hours after being sent home from hospital.

Jonathan White, 13, collapsed at home and never regained consciousness after suffering severe headaches and vomiting for three days.

Now his grief-stricken family say they want to know if more could have been done to help the Newport schoolboy.

His mother, Diane Holmes, was today due to bury her son. And she told the Argus: "Doctors should never have sent him home." The popular Duffryn High School pupil, who survived meningitis when he was two, started complaining of headaches on Monday, January 14.

When his condition worsened on the Wednesday, his grandfather took him to the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, at 10pm.

Jonathan was discharged at 2am and advised take headache tablets after being diagnosed as suffering from flu.

He was taken back to his grandparents' home in Pill - but collapsed at 9am, having suffered a massive heart attack.

The family called an ambulance and the youngster - whose lips had turned blue - was rushed to Royal Gwent Hospital. He was transferred that afternoon to the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, Cardiff - but died at 6am on the Friday, never regaining consciousness and surrounded by more than 20 family members.

Mrs Holmes, 37, of Maesglas Road, Newport, said: "No child who is vomiting and having headaches should be allowed out of hospital. They could have had extra hours with my son - we'll never know if that could have saved him and I want to get to the bottom of it." His mother said the cause of his death was still unclear.

Last night a spokesman for the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, said: "We fully understand the anguish Jonathan's family must be going through at this very sad time. We have written to the family offering a meeting with one of our paediatric team which might be useful in this case, this will give them the opportunity to express their concerns. Until his hospital records are assessed in detail it would be unfair to everybody to speculate further."

Grandmother Monica Moore tearfully said: "He's gone and a part of me has gone with him.

"He was such a lovely boy, never caused trouble, never raised his voice. "The school sent us a touching letter saying how much he will be missed and how much of a positive influence he was. We will all miss him so much."