A 35-year-old British Indian mother accused of suffocating three of her own babies has been cleared of murder by a court in London.

Cheers rang out at Reading Crown Court, west of London, when Trupti Patel, a qualified pharmacist, was found not guilty of murdering her two baby sons, Amar and Jamie, and baby daughter Mia, none of whom survived beyond the age of three months.

All three collapsed suddenly at the Patels' family home in Maidenhead, Berkshire, in separate incidents between 1997 and 2001 and later died.

The jury of 10 men and one woman at Reading Crown Court acquitted Trupti of the three counts of murder, following a six-and-a-half week trial.

Trupti, who with her husband Jayant has one surviving child, had always denied doing anything to harm her children. She was supported throughout her trial by her husband, Jayant, British medical experts and her 80-year-old mother, who flew from Gujarat to testify in support of her daughter.

Trupti was arrested following the death of Mia, her third child to die, but maintained she had not smothered her babies or restricted their breathing by squeezing their chests.

As she was cleared of her children's murder, Trupti put her hands over her mouth and stifled a sob.

The public gallery, which was overflowing with her family and friends, erupted with a huge cheer of 'yes' before the court staff asked them to be quiet.

Trupti collapsed in her husband's arms after the verdicts were read out and the judge said, "Mrs Patel may be discharged."

Outside the courtroom, Mr Patel said, "We are over the moon. We're really relieved. The jury just thought it was obvious."