An 80-year-old woman, Surajben Patel, has travelled all the way from India to the United Kingdom to try and persuade a jury in the Reading crown court, west of London, that her granddaughter is not guilty of murder.

Trupti Patel, a 35-year-old pharmacist, is accused of smothering three of her children to death.

Speaking through an interpreter, Surajben told the court that five of her own 12 children had died from unknown causes within a month-and-a-half of being born.

Her first baby had died within an hour of being born a month earlier than expected. She then told the court how her last child, a girl, had died suddenly a month-and-a-half after being born.

The girl, Surajben said, had high temperature just before she died, but was otherwise looked healthy.

She said she had not tried to find out medically the reasons for her girl's death, though doctors tried their best to save her.

Also giving evidence on Trupti's behalf is Jenny Thomas, chairwoman of the United Kingdom Child Bereavement Trust, who has told the court she has never had the slightest doubt about Trupti's positive behaviour to her children.

Earlier this week in court, Trupti answered 'no' three times to defence lawyer Kieran Coonan's murder charges.

Her sons, 13-week-old Amar and 15-day-old Jamie, and 22-day-old daughter Mia died between 1997 and 2001. She says they had sudden collapses.

Coonan, QC, began by asking Trupti Patel, who was in the witness box for the first time last week, "You are charged with three very serious offences, that you murdered Amar. Did you?" "No," she replied.

"That you murdered Jamie," said Coonan. "No, I did not," she replied.

"And Mia, did you murder her?" "No," she replied.

"Is that true?" asked Coonan. "Yes," she said.

Coonan then asked Trupti, who was dressed in a burgundy trouser suit: "Amar died at three months old. Did you love him?" "Yes," she replied, and began crying.

"Did you smother him?" asked Coonan. "No," replied Trupti, starting to shiver.

The Reading crown court has heard that a police investigation into the apparent cot deaths at Trupti's home in Maidenhead began after a post-mortem on Mia found she had fractured ribs.

The jury was told that Trupti Patel had suffered a miscarriage before becoming pregnant with her first surviving child. Trupti said, "I was very upset. I spent a lot of time at home."

She became pregnant again four months later and the child -- who cannot be named -- was delivered by emergency caesarean section in 1995.

When Amar was born later, Trupti and her husband Jay felt the family was 'complete'.

She recalled the day her son died. The baby had been healthy, but sniffly for a few days, she said. She got up at 4am to breastfeed him because he was unsettled. Her husband got him back to sleep in a separate bedroom before leaving for work.

Trupti got up around 7am and did not check on Amar because she felt he needed the rest. Between 9 and 9.30am, she said, she found him lying in his basket, not breathing.

She said: "He just did not look normal. It was not anything specific I can tell you."

Trupti then called an ambulance and attempted to resuscitate Amar. He died in hospital.

Jamie, the third child, was born in June 1999. Trupti said she and her husband were 'anxious' about a repeat of Amar's situation.

She declined the use of a breathing monitor, saying: "Amar had died at three months, which is a typical age for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and we didn't have the apprehensions in Jamie's early life.

"We also felt it would cause us more anxiety, we wanted to enjoy him as long as we could." She declined an offer of extra resuscitation training, feeling confident with her technique.

On the day he died, she fed him, settled him in his carrycot in her bedroom, then had a shower. She returned to change and could hear him breathing.

Husband Jay arrived home with their other child, who was wet and needed drying. "Jay went into the bedroom and then came out with Jamie in his arms," Trupti said. "He handed him to me and said, 'Do CPR (a form of resuscitation).'

"I did CPR because he did not appear to be breathing. We went down to the kitchen while Jay called for an ambulance." Jamie was airlifted to hospital, but died shortly afterwards.