Mid Sussex hospital bosses have welcomed proposals to fine or jail doctors who keep patients' body parts without family consent.

Last year, an audit carried out in the wake of the Alder Hey scandal in Liverpool revealed between 50 and 499 organs, body parts or stillborn foetuses had been stored at the Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath.

The then Mid Sussex NHS Trust set up helplines and received 85 calls from concerned relatives.

Doctors did not believe they were doing anything wrong and the chief medical officer said a practice of removing and keeping organs was commonplace in the NHS.

But the families who agonised over whether parts of their relatives had been stored without permission are now being asked what they think the penalty for organ retention should be.

A spokesman for the Princess Royal said: "My understanding is no hospital has retained organs since the Alder Hey scandal.

"It is an excellent step to consult all of the groups involved in the scandal. It is very important we talk to doctors and understand why what happened, happened.

"One of the side effects has been that people feel less able to donate organs so there is quite a bit of work to do."

Up to 49 organs were also kept by Eastbourne Hospitals, Royal West Sussex and Worthing and Southlands Hospitals.

After Alder Hey, hospitals were issued with interim guidance requiring them to obtain the "informed consent" of the family before keeping any organs.

Now, the department of health has accepted a recommendation by the chief medical officer that criminal penalties should be available in future.

The public is being asked to put forward suggestions for appropriate punishments - from fines to jail terms - for doctors who continue to take organs without permission.

Councillor Anne Jones, of Mid Sussex District Council, said: "No one wants to see a doctor going to prison. It seems like a heavy-handed approach but it seems the only way to prevent it in the future.

"Alder Hey has concentrated the mind to make sure it never happens again."

The Government has already pledged to introduce new laws to replace the Human Tissue Act of 1961.

A department of health spokeswoman said: "One of the gaps identified in the 1961 Act is that there is no penalty for breaking the law.

"The Government has no firm views on what penalties should be introduced. That is why we are asking people to consider the issue."

The Government is also inviting views on what should be done if relatives disagree on allowing body parts to be retained and on ways of increasing donors.

Hospitals will be given a standardised consent form and a code of practice will be drawn up to ensure common standards across the country.