BANBURY MP Victoria Prentis took part in a poignant tribute to remember babies who did not get the chance to live.

Mrs Prentis helped plant a silver birch festooned with ribbons in People's Park in the town last week, as a living memorial for babies who died through miscarriage, stillbirth or soon after birth.

Grieving parents and relatives can hang ribbons from the tree in memory of their lost children.

The planting was organised by the Save the Horton campaign group alongside Banbury Town Council and Oxfordshire Sands, a stillbirth and neonatal death charity.

Local people helped dig and plant the tree to coincide with Lost Baby Awareness Week, a national event held every October.

Val Ingram, the social media administrator for Save the Horton, said: "This is a very special project that will enable parents to grieve for their lost babies.

"The tree was on display at the recent teddy bears' picnic in Spiceball Park and families took the opportunity then to place ribbons on its branches.”

Town council leader Kieron Mallon said: "This tree will enable bereaved parents and family members to commemorate their babies.

"It will be a special place for them, a quiet spot where they can find solace at a time of great sadness."

Mrs Prentis took part after she broke down in Parliament on October 13 after delivering an impassioned speech about her own baby loss.

She suffered two miscarriages before her third pregnancy, during which she developed life-threatening conditions pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, and her son died shortly after birth.

The subject was debated in the House of Commons as part of a push for better care and prevention around miscarriage and stillbirth.

The MP said: "Physical care comes first but someone needs to be tasked with mental care for the whole family. The death of a baby leaves deep scars."

She sobbed as she added: "I need to be able to tell my constituents they won't have to suffer as I did."

Concerns were also raised during the speech about the ongoing situation at the Horton General Hospital, where the recent temporary downgrading to midwife-led unit status has sparked safety concerns as high-risk expectant mothers, or those that develop complications in birth, will have to travel to the John Radcliffe in Oxford.

In a press statement after the speech Mrs Prentis said: "It was an honour to stand beside my colleagues and to represent the many constituents who share my very real fear over the changes to our much-loved and essential maternity unit at the Horton General Hospital.

"I can only hope that sharing my own experience will make a difference."