TWO men will face criminal charges after a lengthy investigation into the disappearance of frozen embryos at North Hampshire Hospital.

The North Hampshire Hospitals NHS Trust (NHHT) is at the centre of a high profile investigation after it was revealed that at least 39 women, who have received fertility treatment at the hospital and the neighbouring private Hampshire Clinic, were involved in the scare.

A statement from Hampshire Police last Thursday said that the Crown Prosecution Service has been passed the files on two men from the Basingstoke area who have been told that they will be formally charged over the next few months.

Police spokesman Susan Rolling said: "Following a lengthy investigation by detectives at Basingstoke into a complaint of alleged irregularities in the storage of cryo-preserved material at the North Hampshire Hospital Trust Fertility Centre and the Hampshire Clinic Assisted Conception Unit, Basingstoke, two men have been reported for summons.

"On August 1, a 45-year-old man was reported for alleged offences under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990.

"A 42-year-old man was reported [on Thursday] for alleged assault, deception, false accounting and offences under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990.

"The two actions are thought to represent the first legal proceedings under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act of 1990."

The spokesman said it could take up to two months for the CPS to "fine tune" the charges, but that both men will be formally charged at a magistrates court later this year.

The fertility centres involved in the investigation treat patients from the Bordon, Alton and Basingstoke area.

The fact that embryos were missing was brought to light in September last year when a would-be mother arrived to be implanted with her eggs but was told they were missing.

According to a national newspaper, an audit was carried out within the two hospitals in a desperate bid to find the eggs, but without success.

At the time NHHT chief executive Mark Davies said that the issue had been highlighted by the Assisted Conception Unit at the Hampshire Clinic and, as a result, both hospitals had instigated a full and thorough audit.

This revealed a number of inconsistencies between the recording and storage of frozen embryos at both hospitals.

The total number of patients affected at North Hampshire Hospital is said to be 10, while at the Hampshire Clinic, 29 are thought to have been involved.