THE grieving mother of a popular amateur Rugby League player who died after suffering a massive cardiac arrest 18 months ago is hoping that an independent review will finally reveal the whole truth about her son's death at the age of 24.

Diabetic Anthony Young, a member of the Vine club, was taken to Whiston Hospital on November 29, 1999 where he was kept alive for four days on a life support machine. However, he was declared brain dead on December 3 when his family regretfully agreed to turn the machine off.

But his mum, Gina, of Mill Lane, Sutton, believes that medics at Whiston did not do enough to save her son's life.

Gina alleges that Anthony's death was a result of neglect by the St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals Trust which began when they failed to send out a vital appointment to remove an abscess on his back, because his postal address showed up as a business. And when he was admitted to hospital, Gina says that Anthony did not see a doctor for almost two hours, even though it had been stressed that he needed to see a doctor immediately as his potassium levels were potentially fatal.

She also believes he was not given an insulin injection which could have aided his recovery. As a result of his condition, Anthony suffered a massive heart attack.

Since Anthony's death, Gina has sought an open investigation but says that the hospital has witheld important parts of his medical records and have refused to answer important questions.

She said: "I don't feel as though I can get on with my grieving until all of this has been sorted out, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't find out the truth. I have got so many questions that I want answering and I just want to know why it happened in the first place. But the most important thing that I want out of this independent investigation is to make sure that it doesn't happen to anyone else. I want things to change so that no one else has to go through what my family has been through".

A spokesperson for Whiston Hospital told the Star: "Of course the Trust is extremely sorry for any anxiety and distress this has caused, but since Anthony's death we have been doing everything we can to resolve the situation. We have met Mrs Young on a number of occasions and have agreed to hold an independent review, but we cannot comment any further until the review has taken place".

Gina is now waiting to be told when the review will begin.