A grieving couple mourning the loss of their newborn baby have been left stranded overseas facing a crippling medical bill.

Chloe Sullivan, from Snodland, was stripped of her passport and will have to pay about £16,000 just to get home from Dominican Republic with her fiancé and four-year-old daughter.

Miss Sullivan was rushed to a hospital on the Caribbean island amidst concern for her unborn baby.

Having paid doctors a deposit, Miss Sullivan was rushed into an emergency C-section - despite the hospital reportedly being aware the mother's insurance was not going cover the full treatment.

Once the surgery was performed, doctors rushed newborn baby Arlo straight into a neonatal ward on Sunday.

Neither the mother or father were able to see their newborn baby.

Relatives of Miss Sullivan and her fiancée Michael Parrott say doctors told the parents Arlo was distressed in the early hours of Monday morning.

It is thought he was diagnosed with respiratory problems.

Arlo died later that morning.

There are claims the IMG Medical Centre threatened to dispose of Arlo's body unless the family could pay $3,650 (£2,780) to get him to a funeral directors.

Fortunately Miss Sullivan's dad was able to cover the cost, but the couple are facing an even larger bill to leave the country.

"Their hearts are broken and they just want to get home, however the hospital refused to let them leave until they paid the medical fee which had now increased to over $20,000..." - Harry Cottam

Mr Parrott's cousin, Harry Cottam, from Hextable, set up a fundraising on Wednesday to get the couple home.

It reads: "Their hearts are broken and they just want to get home, however the hospital refused to let them leave until they paid the medical fee which had now increased to over $20,000 (£16,000).

"They physically do not have that kind of money nor can they access that easily.

"Chloe and Michael asked if they would allow them to pay in instalments and the hospital refused, keeping them in a room surrounded by security and police.

"Chloe’s four-year-old daughter was with them the whole time, I can’t imagine how scared she must have felt."

It goes on to claim the hospital threatened to call Interpol if the family did not hand over their passports, confining them to the island.

As of Wednesday, the couple had five days to pay a medical bill of $20,991.12 (£16,000), only then would Miss Sullivan get her passport back.

Family of the couple claim they were originally quoted $11,000 (£8,400) for treatment.

The GoFundMe page goes on to say: "Chloe asked for proof of where she had signed to say she would be held accountable for these fees and they provided her with a document which she had not signed. When she asked for a copy they refused.

She then reminded them that they advised before any treatment that they could not pay and the hospital responded with ‘we saved your life, you should be grateful’. They then went on to dismiss the life and death of baby Arlo and told them to ‘try again.’

"They are in an impossible position. Their hearts are breaking and they cannot grieve for their baby boy. If anyone can help in any way at all they will be eternally grateful."

Right now the fundraising page has reached more than £14,300, equating roughly to $18,700.

Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch said she is standing ready to help and will contact the Foreign Office.

She added: "This is a desperately tragic story and I hope to get all of them home soon. The family absolutely must come home with Arlo."

We have approached the Foreign Office for a comment.

To donate on the couple's GoFundMe page, click here.