An inquiry is to be launched by chiefs at Monklands hospital in Airdrie, Scotland, after the body of a dead baby was thrown into a bin by a member of staff.
The foetus, believed to have been at 15 to 20 weeks gestation, was dumped in a clinical waste bin. Managers at the hospital have promised an investigation to find out how the disturbing incident occurred.
The Scottish Daily Record reports that the area's local councillor, Michael Coyle, has called for the immediately sacking of the employee involved.
"I can't believe something like this could happen in a hospital," he said.
"It's really terrible – unforgivable. It's horrifying for the parents of this baby and we need to make sure this never happens again."
Mr Coyle added that 'foetuses are human beings and must be treated with respect' and drew comparisons with the Mortonhall Crematorium scandal in Edinburgh, where the ashes of dead babies were buried in secret for more than 40 years.
A spokesman for NHS Lanarkshire insisted that the baby's remains were recovered from the bin and 'dealt with in accordance with our normal procedures'.
"There is a storage facility in the maternity unit at Wishaw General Hospital where a foetus would be kept following a miscarriage," the spokesman told the Daily Record.
"Arrangements for disposal are discussed with the family and depend on individual circumstances. Options include a hospital cremation or a private burial or cremation."
He added that managers would investigate how the foetus came to be put in the bin.