THE heartbroken mum of tragic toddler Crawford Roney - who died days after having his tonsils removed - has said: "I want our tragedy to help other parents."

Speaking exclusively from her new home in Boston, Massachusettes, 43-year-old Margaret Clarkson said: "We know that nothing can bring back our beautiful baby Crawford but we want our tragedy to help other parents. Losing my only baby is more than devastating."

The two-year-old strawberry blond curly haired baby - affectionately nicknamed 'Bear Extraordinaire' - lived in Adlington with his devoted mum Margaret Clarkson and dad Peter John Roney.

Bubbly Crawford tragically died from inhalation of blood after an 'extremely rare catastrophic secondary haemorrhage', just six days after a 'routine' operation to remove both his tonsils and his adenoids at the private Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Stockport.

At an inquest held at Macclesfield Town Hall, Deputy Coroner for Cheshire Janet Napier recorded a verdict of death due to 'an adverse reaction to necessary hospital treatment'.

And although consultant surgeon Prad Murthy claimed the operation was a success, the disposable instruments he used have since been withdrawn by the Department of Health following a number of complaints from surgeons about the quality of the instruments.

Disposables were introduced amid fears that reusable instruments could spread vCJD.

Only one other death in this country, with similar circumstances, has been recorded in the last ten years.

Crawford, was born on Good Friday 1999 at Macclesfield Hospital, a healthy 8lb baby boy, after an 18-hour long labour and a normal delivery.

But he developed breathing problems and a persistent cough that kept him awake at night which were the start of his troubles. But asthma was ruled out.

After seeking advice from an Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) Surgeon, it was recommended that an operation to remove Crawford's adenoids and enlarged tonsils would cure his respiratory problems.

The family claim that although they were advised about the risk of a secondary haemorrhage 24 hours after surgery, they were not advised about the five to ten days that would follow.

Five days after the operation Margaret and Peter noticed that Crawford was drooling and couldn't swallow properly. He had a fever and had developed a rash on his face.

A phonecall to stand-in surgeon Zaig Shehab confirmed that if the tot was not coughing up blood then he had just caught an infection and a dose of Calpol would bring down his temperature.

Grieving father Peter John Roney, a director for a research investment company in America, gave evidence at the inquest and told about the dreadful morning he woke to find Crawford covered in blood.

"When I woke up I couldn't hear anything from his room," he said.

"He was usually awake first, playing with toys in his bedroom. I went downstairs and noticed what looked like blood on the carpet near the safety gate.

"My first thought was that he had spilt something. I opened the gate and saw him lying on his back with his arms outstretched and his head to one side.

"He was just covered in blood. His face and mouth were congealed with blood."

Peter said that had the couple have known a secondary infection was life threatening they would have taken their son straight to hospital.

Pathologist Dr Alan Williams of Macclesfield Hospital carried out the post mortem and said that Crawford's death was "extremely rare".

The Alexandra Hospital said at the time of writing: "Our sympathies are with the family."

Later Margaret told the Express how her little boy - who has been buried in the USA - was an avid Bob the Builder fan and even had his own little tool belt and hard hat.

"He was a very funny little boy," she said. "Crawford was a wonderful baby and he had his own little personality. Everyone loved him.

"Peter and myself are totally devastated. We feel that more information should have been made available about the fact that tonsillectomy is not trivial and can obviously be fatal."

Crawford's funeral was held at St Peter's Church in Prestbury and Margaret's sister The Very Reverend Jennie Olbrych took the service along with Reverend David Ashworth.

All cash donations from the funeral will go towards the Bench Hill Community Centre which is funded by Barnardos and has a plaque above the children's play area in memory of Crawford.

Margaret is appealing for parents to contact her if they have lost a child in the last year from secondary bleeding. Please e-mail her on mclarkson4laol.com