A DATE has been set for an inquest into the tragic death of an eight-year-old Redditch boy.

Callum Cartlidge suffered a cardiac arrest and died on Friday, March 3 after being taken by ambulance to Worcestershire Royal Hospital, 19 miles away from his home in Redditch.

His family lived just three minutes from the town's Alexandra Hospital but instead he was conveyed by ambulance to Worcester - which took 23 minutes.

The two-day hearing with coroner David Donald William Reid, is due to take place at County Hall Worcester at 10am on Thursday, December 7.

Previously, Callum was taken to his GP on Tuesday, February 28 where he was diagnosed with tonsillitis and stomach ache.

On Thursday, March 2 he had low blood sugar and was taken to Worcestershire Royal but was discharged at 11pm.

A post-mortem in June revealed the eight-year-old had Addisonian Crisis, a life-threatening illness, requiring immediate emergency treatment that can develop when Addison’s disease is left undiagnosed.

Addison’s disease is a long-term disorder where the body does not produce enough steroid hormones.

It has been hospital policy to take seriously ill children in the county to Worcester since September last year and in July this year all inpatient children's services were permanently moved to Worcestershire Royal.

Following his death, an investigation was launched by Worcestershire Acute Hospital NHS Trust.

His funeral was held on Tuesday, March 28 and saw hundreds of mourners pack-out Redditch Crematorium, many wearing Chelsea football shirts with 'Callum' printed on the back with others carrying yellow roses.

A silent march in memory of Callum took place in Redditch town centre in April and saw hundreds of people march through the town to highlight controversial health care changes for Redditch and Bromsgrove families.

The trust said it would not be able to comment until after the inquest.