She should have been celebrating her second birthday.

But Lilly Grace Rose Rogerson had her young life cut short after developing croup in April this year.

Now, her grieving family are mounting a hospital negligence case after the 20-month-old was sent home from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary’s accident and emergency department with a prescription, instead of being kept in.

Hours later, little Lilly stopped breathing at home as her mum Samantha Pogson called 999 and desperately tried to resuscitate her.

Samantha, 27, of Rastrick, said: “Lilly was let down by the system. She was so ill she should have been kept in for observation but she was given steroids and sent home after 20 minutes.

“I’m still numb and can’t believe this has happened. It has left a hole in my life.”

Lilly was born at Calderdale Royal Hospital on August 22, 2011, weighing a healthy 9lb 7oz.

She never suffered any respiratory problems until she caught a cold in March 2013, which went to her chest.

“She’d been unwell and had been to the GPs who said to give her plenty of fluids and paracetamol,” recalls Samantha, whose partner is Lilly’s dad, 30-year-old Chris Rogerson.

“On Good Friday, she was worse and on the Saturday morning her chest sounded shocking. She was wheezing, her eyes were rolling and she felt floppy. She needed help.”

Samantha’s mum and sister took Lilly to A&E as Samantha stayed with her two other children Tamzin, nine, and seven-year-old Mcauley, who were also unwell.

Her sister, Leanna Plunkett, said: “We were seen straightaway and were only there an hour and 10 minutes. She was examined and they said it looked like croup.

“The doctor gave me a syringe with steroids in it which I gave her. He said to wait 20 minutes to see how she was, then we were told we could go home and were given a leaflet about it.”

Lilly was prescribed more steroids and liquid paracetamol and sent home to recover.

Samantha said: “She was shattered when she got home, she just wanted to go to sleep. She woke up for a bit, but then it was bedtime again and went to sleep as normal.

“Then, at 3.10am she woke and she was shocking. She was staring again and her breathing was awful.

“I brought her downstairs to try to make steam for her croup with the kettle, gave her some paracetamol and then changed her nappy. She wasn’t crying, but was just staring.

“Then she gasped, stretched out and went stiff. Her head went back and I didn’t know what was happening. I scooped her up to bring her round but she was stiff.

“I called 999 and tried to do CPR but didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I knew she was gone because she’d stopped breathing.”

Lilly’s heart stopped for 40 minutes as paramedics battled to save her. It was eventually started again at Calderdale Royal Hospital, but by then she had suffered severe brain damage.

The toddler was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary and spent the next five days in intensive care, with Samantha, Chris and other family members by her side.

“She was on a ventilator but her heart was beating on its own,” said Samantha. “We had doctors telling us she would survive but we didn’t know the extent of her disability.

“But all the time, her brain was swelling. Then, we got a call to say she was deteriorating. Her heart rate had dropped suddenly from 90 to 46.

“When I saw her, I just picked her up and held her in my arms. We fell asleep together for two hours and when I woke, she had gone. We were all so devastated.”

Lilly was baptised and her machines were switched off later that day on April 5.

More than 350 people attended her funeral with a white horse-drawn hearse.

Samantha added: “Her white casket was decorated with butterflies and whenever we see a butterfly, the children think it is Lilly.

“We talk about her all the time to get through it.

“I don’t want any other family to go through what we have been through. Croup is bad and if she had been kept in, they would have been there when she stopped breathing and might have saved her.”

To mark Lilly’s birthday, the family released balloons and fireworks into the sky to keep her memory alive.

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust Director of nursing Helen Thomson said: “This is a very sad case and we wish to offer our sincere condolences to Lilly’s family.

“We are in contact with them so that we can answer any questions they have at this very difficult time for them.”