A woman who launched legal action after her son was prescribed the wrong medicine has been awarded £1,400 in compensation.

Joshua Donnelly, three, needs to take the anticonvulsant medicine Topamax for his epilepsy, the Evening Gazette reports.

However, after he had been taking the medicine for several days, he became unwell and had to be taken to hospital.

His mother Shirley Holt, 45, noticed after breaking a capsule up that there seemed to be too much powder and it emerged that the pharmacist at Harry Hill chemist in Billingham had mixed up his usual 15mg capsules with 50mg ones.

Although Joshua has now fully recovered, Ms Holt took legal action against the chemist and won a payout, although the firm did not admit liability.

Commenting on the episode, Ms Holt said: "If I hadn’t noticed when I did, who knows what would have happened? It is scary. I am very angry over it. I will never go back into his shop again."

Clinical negligence occurs when a professional in the health service provides care that is deemed to be below standard and this causes physical injury, death or distress.