An inquiry has begun at a doctor's surgery in Birmingham after an eight-week-old baby was given the controversial MMR jab by mistake.

Shannon Whitter was supposed to receive a jab for diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus when she attended the Bellevue Medical Centre, but a nurse administered the measles, mumps and rubella jab instead.

The vaccine is normally given to youngsters at the age of 12 months.

The medical centre said the nurse involved would not be administering further vaccines.

Shannon's father George Whitter, 43, said: "Fortunately Shannon seems to be fine.

It should not have happened in this day and age Christine Fullen

"But we're keen to see the outcome of this inquiry because another child may not have been so lucky."

The mistake came to light after Shannon's mother, Christine Fullen, took her to the medical centre for her inoculations on Tuesday.

When she returned to their home in Acorn Grove, Ladywood, there was a message on her answering machine from the surgery telling her about the mistake.

Shannon's parents took her to Birmingham's Diana, Princess of Wales Children's Hospital where they said they were told by doctors Shannon was protected against any adverse effects because her mother's antibodies were still in her system.

'Deep regret'

Miss Fullen said she was very angry: "This should not have happened in this day and age."

Dr Andrew Carson, from the medical centre, said the incident was "deeply regretted".

He said: "We are looking further with the practice team into what exactly led to this error and procedures will be reviewed to prevent this from happening again.

"We deeply regret this incident and the concern this has caused to the family."

He added that manufacturers of the MMR vaccine advise it is safe to administer it earlier than 12 months.