THE grief-stricken family of a 13-year-old boy say they intend to sue the hospital which sent him home just hours before he died.

Jonathan White collapsed at the home of his grandmother in Pill, Newport, after suffering a heart attack.

It was found that it had been caused by a build-up of pressure in his head as a result of a "very rare" brain tumour at the base of his brain.

At an inquest, Cardiff coroner Dr Lawrence Addicott recorded a verdict of death through natural causes.

Following the hearing, his anguished mother Diane Holmes and grandmother Monica Moore said they were unhappy about the way he was treated by Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital and the evidence given at the inquest.

"I know I have to come to terms with his death but it's still eating me away," said Mrs Holmes, who has three daughters, and now lives in Pill.

A spokesman for Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust said: "We have provided the inquest team with all the information that is available relating to Jonathan's extremely sad death. "It would be inappropriate to comment any further now that a verdict has been reached and if further legal action is being considered."

Jonathan, who had meningitis when he was 18 months old, had been suffering from headaches and was referred to the hospital by a doctor after his condition worsened, explained Mrs Moore.

She claims he was discharged four hours later after being diagnosed with flu and advised to take headache tablets.

"I know now that Jonathan was a time-bomb but at the same time I think they should have kept him in that night and made him more comfortable," Mrs Moore said. His family believe the teenager should have been kept in hospital for at least 24 hours for observation.

Jonathan went to his grandmother's home in Pill and collapsed the following morning just after his mother arrived.

"As she walked in, he quickly jumped up and fell into her arms," said Mrs Moore. "It was as though he was waiting for me to come in," said his devastated mother.

He was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital and then transferred to the University Hospital of Wales but never regained consciousness. He died, surrounded by his family, when his life support machine was switched off.

Mrs Holmes said she had since been told by a doctor that there was a possibility her son's life could have been prolonged.

She added: "I know they might not have saved him but ten hours could have made a difference."

His death has taken a terrible toll on the family. Mrs Holmes suffered the break-up of her marriage and recently took an overdose while Mrs Moore has been in continual ill health. Friends left a moving card of messages to the popular Duffryn School pupil on his grave.

PICTURED: Diane with daughters Catherine and Jenny.