A five month old baby could have been killed after a bottle of methadone was found with his prescription, his mother claimed.

Mother-of-two Adele Ridgway, of Bartholomew Street in Dover, went to collect her son Oliver’s medicine for sickness last Thursday from Cairns Chemist in London Road.

It wasn’t until she went to give Oliver his usual dosage at home that she noticed two bottles in the paper bag.

On examination she discovered that one was methadone, a drug used to substitute morphine for heroin addicts.

It contained 70ml and the label instructs it is for daily use.

Miss Ridgway said: “The bottle has someone else’s name on it.

“When I first started getting the medicine I used to get a bottle exactly like that, but it wasn’t until I saw the label that I realised what it was.

“I was gobsmacked and couldn’t believe what I was reading,” she said.

'I was gob-smacked and couldn’t believe what I was reading...' - Miss Ridgway

“Just always check the bottle before consuming what you are taking, he would have died with the amount he would’ve taken.”

Oliver has a repeat prescription from St James Surgery in Harold Street once a month to help with his reflux.

It is administered with a syringe which squirts the liquid into his mouth.

She immediately alerted the chemist and has lodged a complaint with the General Pharmaceutical Council.

The 25-year-old said: “They sent someone down straight away to see if they could get the bottle back - they were really apologetic on the phone.”

Miss Ridgway said that she has since tipped the liquid down the sink to avoid the risk of her two-year-old Isabella getting hold of it.

Her post to Facebook attracted the attention of more than 35,000 people nationwide.

The former Astor College student said: “I couldn’t believe something like that could be put in with a baby’s medication.”

A spokesman for Cairns Pharmacy said: “We are currently investigating this matter.

"We were alerted to the Facebook post on Thursday, July 16 and immediately took action to contact Adele Ridgway, to ascertain whether there was a patient safety risk.

“Having checked records and stock, and taken statements, our initial assessment is that the container was empty before it left the pharmacy, so presented no health risk.

“Nevertheless, we are sorry for any alarm that may have been caused by this highly unusual incident. We cannot comment further at this time.”