The mother of a baby who died at just a week old has begun a hunger strike in a bid to get his remains back.
Lydia Reid lost her son Gary in 1975 but later discovered his remains had not been buried in a coffin bearing his name.
When the casket was exhumed four years ago under a court order, experts concluded it had never contained human remains.
Edinburgh mum Lydia became a campaigner for exposing the use of children's body parts for research without parental consent after losing Gary, and says to this day she has no idea what has truly happened to her son's remains.
She has now set up camp outside the Crown Office in the capital to begin a hunger strike, saying she has run out of other options in trying to get Gary's remains back.
She told the BBC : "This is a hunger strike to object to a system where there is no legal pathway to stop Police Scotland and Crown Office taking the parts of my child Gary Paton.
"I have no other legal option left, so at 73 I'm having to camp for the first time, which is very difficult when I'm disabled.
"I'm thinking about my boy and it is the only chance left of him getting a burial."
The Record has reported extensively on Lydia's fight for answers as to what happened to her baby boy.
She claims that a body she was shown at the funeral home after Gary died was not that of her son.
In the years after his death she embarked on a search for answers that helped to expose the UK-wide practice of retaining remains for research purposes without consent.
The NHS has previously admitted that about 6000 organs and tissue samples were retained by Scottish hospitals between 1970 and 2000 – many from children.
Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool was at the centre of the scandal. It was found to have retained thousands of body parts from hundreds of infants.
The outrage led to the creation of the Human Tissue Act 2004 and the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 to regulate how human remains are managed.
In 2017, Lydia - who lost another son Bruce to cancer in 2006 - successfully argued for Gary's grave to be exhumed and the casket examined.
The examination was carried out by renowned Scots anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black, who concluded that a body had never been in the coffin.
All that was found was a shawl, hat and a misspelled name plate - but no trace of human remains.
Lydia added: "I have no food with me, only water.
"My son Steven will drive past as will the police during the night to check on me so I'm not scared."
Police Scotland has reportedly given Lydia permission to camp outside the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) - which says it cannot comment on the situation.
A spokesperson told the BBC: "We appreciate that it has been a difficult time for Ms Reid.
"COPFS has a responsibility to establish the facts in this matter which should provide Ms Reid with answers.
"While the investigation is ongoing it would not be appropriate to comment further."
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