Social services managers in Oxfordshire have denied accusations that they have put babies up for adoption without adequate grounds.

Oxford-based pressure group, The Association For Improvements In Maternity Services (AIMS), said Government targets on adoption had led, in a number of cases, to the interests of the mother being overruled.

Researcher Jean Robinson claimed some families, and mothers suffering post-natal depression, were not being given the help they needed.

But Oxfordshire social services department strongly denied suggestions that children were put up for adoption without good reason.

The claim that mothers with post-natal depression were being badly treated was also denied.

Service manager Kate Hart said: "Last year, the number of adoptions in the county fell, and the figures fluctuate.

"What Mrs Robinson is saying is insulting to social workers who are charged with putting the interests of children first."