William Mead death: Millionaire sponsors sepsis leaflets

'If it saves one life' the leaflet campaign will have been a success, Mrs Mead said

A Lottery millionaire is helping to pay for sepsis warning leaflets to be printed in memory of a baby who died from the condition.

An inquest heard William Mead died of treatable blood poisoning in 2014.

Leaflets will be handed out to expectant parents throughout the UK outlining the warning signs of sepsis in infants.

Truro millionaire Peter Congdon has stepped forward to pay the printing costs, which are around £6,000.

Melissa Mead, William's mother, said Mr Congdon's gesture was "humbling".

More on the sponsorship for the leaflets, plus more Devon and Cornwall news

Mr Congdon has previously funded a facility for Multiple Sclerosis, a condition his wife suffered from before she died of a hospital superbug

William Mead, from Cornwall, died aged 12 months in December 2014 after suffering from a persistent cough

Mrs Mead told the BBC the leaflet would be "an invaluable resource".

"I put out a request on social media and Peter's family picked it up... he agreed straight away."

Mr Congdon said he was "pleased to be in a situation to help".

"I will be keeping in touch and helping in whatever way I can," he added.

Mrs Mead said the family thought the leaflet 'would be an invaluable resource' for new parents

Mr Congdon has paid £5,700 to pay for the leaflets and the company that provides packs for around 850,000 new mothers has waived its fee to insert the material.

William died at a year old from the condition, which his family described as "so preventable".

A report into his death criticised GPs, out-of-hours services and a 111 call handler who failed to spot he had sepsis caused by an underlying chest infection and pneumonia.

Around 44,000 people in the UK die of sepsis every year.