For 14 long years, Deborah Harris and her husband Stephen have been trying to start a family.

In that time, Mrs Harris has suffered nine miscarriages and two ectopic pregnancies.

But up until a few weeks ago, it seemed as though she and her husband would finally have the child for which they had longed.

Mrs Harris, 38, had undergone IVF treatment and successfully became pregnant. All seemed well. Her baby was due on October 23.

Mrs Harris said: "He was such an active baby. I went for a scan the week before and was told the head was in place for labour."

She went into labour 12 days early and went to hospital still believing everything was fine.

But she said: "When I got to the hospital they said they were really sorry but there was no heartbeat."

Later that day she gave birth to a baby boy, who the couple named Charlie. He was stillborn.

Doctors said Mrs Harris suffered a bleed in her stomach which led to his death. Mrs Harris cradled her little boy for 18 hours in hospital, while having blood transfusions.

She said: "I had to give birth even though my son had died two hours before. I was just switched off, it was too much to handle.

"I had three epileptic seizures, and my husband thought that I was going to die as well because they pushed the crash button."

Two weeks later she and her husband held a funeral for their little boy. It was October 23, the day he was due to have been born.

At home in Francombe Road, Horfield, they had everything prepared for his arrival. A crib and a Moses basket stood waiting. Nearby there were baby clothes and toys.

"When we came home and everything was still here, we had to pack it away," said Mrs Harris.

"My family and friends are just devastated. They know how long we've been waiting. It's just not fair, he was perfect."

Not only has Mrs Harris had to deal with her baby's death, but her dad Bill died aged 72 two weeks earlier, and her cousin Maggie died two weeks later from a stroke, aged just 43.

Mr and Mrs Harris want to go ahead with another round of IVF, but this may not be offered to them on the NHS. Mrs Harris, who worked in a sandwich shop before going on maternity leave, said: "We want to go ahead with IVF again, but it's all down to funding; we can't afford to go private, and we can't conceive naturally because there's too much risk of more ectopics."

In an ectopic pregnancy, the fertilised egg attaches itself outside the womb and has to be aborted.

Mrs Harris said: "We decided to change our phone line, internet and TV to the same provider (Virgin) to save us £100 per month. This money will go towards IVF if we have to go private in the future."

But even that has proved problematic. The couple have waited two months for a Virgin Media phone line to be installed at their home, and still have no connection.

Virgin Media engineers told Mrs Harris that the existing phone line had filled up with gravel, and would have to be dug out, which could take another two to six weeks.

Mrs Harris said: "I was relying on the phone being installed as it's my only means of contact with the support I need. I have a mobile, but it costs a fortune to use; money I want to save. I feel isolated."

Mr Harris, a 35-year-old painter, said: "I'm at work all day, and if it gets a bit too much for Deborah, she should be able to contact a support group. It's obviously been distressing. My head is all over the place at the moment."

A Virgin Media spokesperson said: "Deborah Harris' phone installation was delayed as a result of damage caused to our infrastructure. Our engineers are working to resolve this situation as soon as possible and we expect Mrs Harris' phone line to be installed by Wednesday, November 25. We have sent Mrs Harris a mobile phone with £50 credit as a goodwill gesture to ensure she is able to make calls during this sensitive time. We apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused."

Mrs Harris received the mobile phone yesterday morning, but told the Evening Post it doesn't work.