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A murder enquiry into the death of eight babies is still ongoing after a Chester nurse was arrested.

Lucy Letby was arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and the attempted murder of a further six on July 3, last year.

The 28-year-old's arrest came as part of a long-running investigation following a high number of baby deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital

It is understood 17 infants died at the hospital between March 2015 and July 2016 and there were 15 non-fatal collapses at the hospital's neonatal unit during that period.

Ms Letby - who has not been formally named by police - was released on police bail three days later, pending further enquiries and to date no charges have been brought against her.

However Cheshire Police has confirmed that six months on the investigation into the high number of infant deaths at the Chester hospital remains ongoing, but there have been no further arrests.

At the time nurse Letby was arrested a spokesman for Countess of Chester Hospital said: “We are continuing to support Cheshire Police with their ongoing investigation.

"In line with the Trust’s current policies, the member of staff involved, will not be returning to work while this matter is ongoing.

"We will not be commenting further at this time.”

When approached by the ECHO the hospital said it had "no update" at this time.

In a statement Cheshire Police said "parents of all the babies continue to be kept fully updated and are being supported throughout the process by specially trained officers.

"This is an extremely difficult time for all the families and it is important to remember that, at the heart of this, there are a number of bereaved families seeking answers as to what happened to their children."

The Countess of Chester Hospital had carried out a number of independent expert medical reviews into the deaths before calling in police.

Searches of Ms Letby's home in Westbourne Road in Chester and at her parents property in Hereford were then carried out.

In a 2013 interview with the Chester And District Standard, Ms Letby said she cared for babies requiring various levels of support.

In her training she worked on a placement at Liverpool Women's Hospital on Merseyside - and the trust said it was involved in the police investigation and was reviewing patients who attended the hospital during her placement there.

She then worked as a student nurse at Chester, during three years of training, before qualifying as a children's nurse at The University of Chester in 2011.

Ms Letby said she began working on the Chester unit after graduating.

Last year, after her arrest, the hospital's medical director, Ian Harvey, said they were continuing to support police with their investigation.

He said: “Asking the police to look into this was not something we did lightly, but we need to do everything we can to understand what has happened here and get the answers we and the families so desperately want.”

Mr Harvey added that the hospital is “confident the unit is safe to continue in its current form”.