A mourning family has said that their five-year-old boy would still be alive today if health professionals listened to them about their concerns.

The child's uncle, Zaheer Ahmed, said he "begged and begged" for Yusuf Mahmud Nazir to be taken in and treated at the hospital but was told: "there are no beds and not enough doctors."

The child first complained about a sore throat on November 13 and was taken to a GP by his parents and given antibiotics.

When his condition did not improve, they drove him to Rotherham General Hospital where they waited all night to be seen by a doctor.

When Yusuf was eventually assessed, the doctor sent him home despite remaking: "it was the worst case of tonsillitis he had ever seen."

In a distressed state and struggling to breathe, his parents feared the worst and called an ambulance, insisting that he be seen by the specialist paediatric team at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

However, it was too late as the boy passed away after the infection had spread to his lungs, causing multiple organ failures resulting in several cardiac arrests.

What has Mr Ahmed said about his nephew's tragic passing?

Mr Ahmed said: "He stopped breathing, he stopped talking, when he was choking, he couldn't breathe. He was struggling. And it's led to his life being taken at five years old.

"If they would have treated him where we wanted him to be treated he would be here with us now.

"He would have been here playing like he was. We've lost a beautiful child… it's not his fault. We begged and begged and begged for help. We couldn't get it. We just did not get the help we wanted, or we needed or we should have got.

"They kept saying to us, they kept saying to us, 'We've got one doctor. What do you want us to do? We've got no beds available. What do you want us to do? We've got no space for him. What do you want us to do? Complain to the big people, don't complain to us. Complain to the big ones that only gave us one doctor'."

However, the boy's uncle said he wanted something positive to come from the family's loss, saying: "Even if it saves one child's life, saves one parent going through what we're going through, it saves one family to suffer what we've suffered. That will be enough for me.

"If Yusuf, who's passed away, if he can save one child, we're happy. We do not want anybody to go through this. And we're just asking them to please listen to people. Because when you don't listen to people, this is what happens."

Dr Richard Jenkins, chief executive of the Rotherham NHS Trust, offered his condolences and told Sky News: "We have commenced a thorough investigation into Yusuf's care, which will include liaison with Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust.

"We have contacted the family and will continue to do so as part of the investigation."

This comes amid a rise in respiratory viruses this season amid massive pressure on emergency children's services.