Parents warned about letting their baby sleep in the bed

Parents are being warned sharing a bed with their baby increases the risk of cot death.

A study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that breastfed babies under the age of three months who sleep in their parents' beds - face a five-fold increased risk of cot death.

"For the first few months they have the baby in a cot beside the bed so that they can bring it in feed it and nurse it in bed," said Professor Bob Carpenter, who led the research.

"But as soon as the mother goes to sleep she puts the baby back in the cot."