The parents of two women who died after contracting herpes shortly after giving birth have told of their devastation.

Kimberley Sampson, from Whitstable, and Hawkinge mum Samantha Mulcahy, died just six weeks apart in 2018 at two hospitals run by the East Kent Hospitals Trust.

Today an inquest at County Hall in Maidstone, heard coroner Catherine Wood, determine: “It was unlikely the obstetrician was the common source of the infection that lead to their deaths” and ruled out unlawful killing and negligence.

Delivering the summary of her findings, the coroner said both women could have been given an anti-viral treatment sooner,

Speaking after the hearing, Samantha’s mother Nicola Foster, said: “Our family over the past five years has suffered immensely.

“Losing Sam has left a massive void in our lives and a little girl without her mummy.

“I cannot give up yet, because I do not feel like we have got to the real truth.”

Also speaking following the inquest today, Kimberley’s mother, Yvette Sampson paid tribute to her “beautiful daughter”.

“Kim was not just my daughter she was my best friend,” she said.

“She was beautiful inside and out and she had the most infectious smile and kind-hearted nature.

"I look at Kim's children every day I look after them and although they bring so much joy there is also sadness that Kim is not around to watch them grow and see their achievements.

"It gives me such a heavy heart that Kim's children will never get to grow up with their truly amazing mummy. Kim would be so proud of them and how they are developing and they will always know how much she loved them.”

She added, the past five years have felt like “a fight for answers.”

"I have not been able to grieve properly because I have been so focused on getting answers about what happened to Kim,” she said.

"It has consumed my life. I will always be angry and upset at everything I have had to go through to get to this stage.

"I put my faith in the hospital trust to investigate my concerns however I felt the trust did not listen to me and were too busy trying to get the issue to go away.

"This left me trying to navigate a complex system and I would not have got to this stage if it was not for the support I have had.

"It has been emotionally draining and has changed me as a person.

"While I have some answers, as a mother there are still many questions I have about what happened that remain outstanding.

"I want the trust to learn from what has happened and how Kim was badly let down.

"I want there to be change so families going through the most unimaginable pain are given access to help and support as well as answers as quickly as possible."

The coroner’s originally decided not to hold inquests into the two deaths, but U-turned after it was revealed both C-sections may have been performed by the same surgeon, who could potentially have infected the women with herpes.

Subsequent investigations revealed they had contracted infections caused by the herpes virus.

Yet in a summary of her findings, the coroner said both women could have been given an anti-viral treatment sooner, and that particularly in Ms Mulcahy’s case “suspicion should have been raised” given the knowledge among staff already of Ms Sampson’s earlier death.

The obstetrician, who cannot be named due legal reasons, provided emergency c-sections to both young mums within eight weeks of each other but strongly denied being the source of the infection.

Speaking after today’s inquest, Kim's family's lawyer said the inquest, and listening to the evidence around Kim's, death has been incredibly difficult – but it was something Yvette was determined to do to honour her daughter's memory.

"The inquest has identified issues with what happened to Kim and the coroner did find there was a failing in relation to Kim's care,” they said.

"By May 16 in 2018, there should have been consideration of administering antiviral medication.

“The trust's failure to provide antiviral [medication] more than minimally contributed to her death. Patient safety should be a fundamental priority in all care however we continue to see too many families whose lives have been shattered.

"We urge the hospital trust to learn lessons from issues identified and to reflect on whether more can be done to support families during difficult times."

The hearing today also heard a legal challenge from journalists to lift the anonymity order applied for by the trust to stop the surgeon being named.

EKHUT argued its anonymity order was to protect the reputation and mental health of its staff member from what it claimed would be damaging media reports of the case, but the media’s bid argued the fears for the surgeon were speculative.

A spokeswoman for the trust, said: "We would like to express our sincere condolences to the families of Samantha Mulcahy and Kimberley Sampson. We are unable to comment further until the inquest has concluded."

Ms Wood also adjourned her decision over the anonymity until the same hearing on July 26.