NOBODY will be prosecuted over an unknown number of deaths at Furness General Hospital’s maternity unit, detectives have said.

But the case which originally sparked a wider police probe - the death of nine-day-old Dalton baby Joshua Titcombe - remains open.

An inquest into Joshua’s death in 2011 found he contracted an infection from his mother during birth in 2008 which midwives failed to properly identify and treat.

Cumbria Police received complaints about the standards of care Joshua received at the Barrow hospital and, by September 2011, its major investigation team extended its inquiry to ‘a number’ of other deaths after more bereaved families came forward.

But none of those additional complaints will proceed to a prosecution, it was confirmed today.

Detective Inspector Doug Marshall, of Cumbria Police, said: “The investigation into the complaints received about Furness General Hospital Maternity Unit has been extremely complex.

“The investigation into the death of Joshua Titcombe is continuing.

“In respect of the other complaints we have received in the course of that investigation we have been able to inform those family members that their cases will not proceed to a criminal prosecution.

“The families have been provided with information on how to progress their concerns with the (Morecambe Bay NHS) trust and a number of investigations involving other regulatory bodies are ongoing.

“An independent inquiry has been launched into the events in question and it would be remiss of me to comment further on the findings of our investigation until that enquiry reports.”

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust, which runs Furness General Hospital, has also been investigated by health watchdog Monitor and the Care Quality Commission after a string of concerns about patient care.