A Surrey couple had their baby taken away from them after police mistook a genetic condition for abuse.
Teddy, the baby son of Gina Hodgkins and Joshua Sparks, suffers from a rare condition that causes him to bruise easily.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) also makes Teddy exhibit symptoms similar to shaken baby syndrome.
The Daily Mail reports that Teddy’s condition was mistaken for abuse when mum Gina brought him to be weighed six weeks after his birth.
Police were mistakenly alerted to the fact that he was still bruised, leading to social workers and one police officers showing up to the couple’s house to take Teddy away.
They also took their eight-year-old daughter, Amelia.
Gina and Joshua were arrested and only permitted to see their children under direct supervision for five months.
Eventually, once appropriate tests were carried out, the case was dropped and the couple got their children back.
They have said that they try not to mention the case at home because Amelia worries she will be “taken away again.”
EDS affects over 5,000 babies in the UK.
Campaigners have said that 250 parents have been mistakenly accused of abuse because of the condition.
