ALMOST 30 years after giving birth to two stillborn babies and being given a hysterectomy without her consent, Patricia Briody is now hoping that European justice will give her the rights and the surrogate child that the British legal system has denied her.

Following a chain of legal battles, Patricia, a schoolteacher from Larch Close in Billinge has condemned the British justice system as biased and discriminatory as she faces bankruptcy and possibly a childless life after a blunder by the St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority when she was just a teenager.

Having lost a case for medical negligence against the health authority in the High Court in London, Patricia, now 48, is hoping that the European courts will give her the answers she desperately wants, as well as almost half a million pounds in damages for her 29 years of trauma, including £12,000 to cover the cost of a surrogacy.

Patricia was just 18 years old when she gave birth to her first stillborn child in 1972 and less than 12 months later tragedy struck again when Patricia, pregnant again, was admitted to Whiston Hospital. After undergoing an emergency caesarean Patricia had a stillborn boy and was given a sub-total hysterectomy without her knowledge or consent.

Suffering from post-traumatic stress and in the midst of a troubled marriage, it was more than 10 years later when Patricia contacted a solicitor to find out where her babies had been buried and was advised to press for a case of medical negligence against the St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority.

After spending two years seeking legal permission to take the health authority to court, the hearing for medical negligence finally began in December 1997, after Patricia had refused the out-of-court offer of £60,000.

The following year, in a trial, which has been described as unique, St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority, was found guilty of gross medical negligence and it was discovered that Patricia should never have gone into labour a second time as she suffered from pelvic disproportion, which may have caused the stillbirth.

But in spite of her victory, Patricia now faces the possibility of bankruptcy because the total of £80,508 was less than the out-of-court amount offered as the judge dismissed a lot of her claim as "exaggerated".

In an interview with the Star, Patricia said: "I didn't want to accept the money because all I wanted were the answers to my questions. I was naive when I was 19, but as I got older I needed to know what had happened to my babies." Patricia is now preparing to take her claim for compensation to pay for the surrogacy to the European Court of Human Rights and is asking local people to support her case.

She said: "I feel let down by the British justice system, I have been made to feel like a criminal, even though the health authority is in the wrong. I want to start a petition to give to Tony Blair to point out the flaws in the legal system and urge him to change it."

And in yet another tragic turn of events, Patricia and her partner John Hill, 39, have recently discovered that the two stillborn babies are not buried at the site they have been visiting at St Helens crematorium for the past 29 years and are now seeking the help of their MP Dave Watts to locate their grave. l If anyone would like to support Patricia Briody you can contact her on 07730 272814.