The financially struggling Royal Shrewsbury Hospital is set to make the charges for an extra ultra-sound session from September.

Currently, mothers-to-be undergo two scans to check the health of their unborn child.

If the baby's gender is not evident during these checks, parents will have the choice to pay for a further scan.

Ted Eams, of Surestart Shrewsbury, a group set up to support children and their families, said this is a step in the wrong direction.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust is �19m in debt and recently appointed a new chairman to replace Neil Taylor who stepped down in 2004 amid allegations he provided false information on his CV.

Mr Taylor, 42, from Solihull, is due to appear at Shrewsbury Magistrates on 17 August charged with deception.