A family has been awarded £410,000 in compensation after a woman died due to errors during a caesarean section.

Joanne Lockham, 45, had been admitted to Stoke Mandeville Hospital at Aylesbury in October 2007 and staff made the decision to give her a caesarean when her baby’s heartbeat dropped.

The patient was put under a general anaesthetic, but doctors mistakenly inserted the oxygen tube into her oesophagus and not her windpipe. She was deprived of oxygen for half an hour and her heart stopped a minute after the baby was born.

Ms Lockham’s life support was turned off two days later.

Her husband Peter decided to sue Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust after it admitted liability for the death and for "serious failings" in Ms Lockham’s care.

Mr Justice Burnett has now approved a compensation settlement of £410,000 for the loss and to cover the long-term care needs of the baby.

According to Babycentre.co.uk, approximately one in four pregnant women gives birth by caesarean every year.