A TRAGIC family whose baby lost his brave battle for life have been dealt another devastating blow.

While mother Pauline Grant cradled dying Caden,who was born at 1lb 10oz, at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, her partner, Darren Knowles, hid a heartbreaking secret from her.

Just an hour before, Pauline's mother, Winifred,67, had died while babysitting the couple's other two children at their home in Leaside, Runcorn.

Her grandson Connor, nine, ran to a neighbouring house to raise the alarm.

Now the couple are planning a double funeral for little Caden, who lost his month-long battle to survive at 7pm last Wednesday, and his grandmother, whose cause of death is not yet known.

Ms Grant said: 'All the time I was cuddling Caden, I had no idea that my mum was dead while my baby was dying. Darren knew I had enough to contend with and thought the news about my mum would be too much and would push me over the edge.

'At the moment none of this has properly sunk in yet. I know Caden is dead because he died in my arms, but it is hard to accept that I will not see my mum again either.'

Caden had defied the odds by surviving after being born four months premature. He had undergone major surgery and his tiny lungs would not work on their own.

Mr Knowles, said: 'We are devastated at the loss of our son. He wasn't with us for long, but we are grateful for the time that we spent with him.

'At one point we were told that Caden was getting better and might survive and that got our hopes up. But everything was dashed when he took a turn for the worst.'

The baby, whose name means Battling Soldier, was born on July 14.

Although his weight only gave him a one in 20 chance of surviving the first two days, he managed to pull through.

But then doctors at Liverpool Women's Hospital discovered he had a perforated bowel and he was transferred to Alder Hey, where he survived a dangerous operation.

However, he then developed problems with his lungs and he was baptised from his ventilated cot and given the Last Rites.

A spokesman for the Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust said:'Caden was born very prematurely weighing just 1lb 10oz. He developed a bowel complication and had an operation to treat this at Alder Hey.

'The operation was a success, but Caden remained critically ill and despite the very best efforts of our staff, Caden died peacefully in the arms of his parents at 7pm on Wednesday.

'Our deepest sympathies are with Caden's family.'