A news website has been rapped by the press watchdog for erroneously claiming a man whose death it covered was a father.

Edinburgh Live described Steven Carrie as a “dad” in its coverage of the 34-year-old’s death, prompting his family to complain on the grounds that he had no children.

The site issued a correction and defended its reporting, claiming it had not breached the Editors’ Code of Practice, although it did not offer an explanation for why it believed Mr Carrie was a father.

The Independent Press Standards Organisation found against Edinburgh Live after an investigation.

The Reach plc-owned site had reported that Mr Carrie, described as a “dad” in the headline, had passed away aged 34 following a cardiac arrest two years previously and that his family had now donated a defibrillator to the local community.

Complaining under Clause 1 (Accuracy) and Clause 4 (Intrusion into grief or shock) of the Editors’ Code, Mr Carrie’s family said Edinburgh Live’s story was based on another piece published in a separate publication which was a “good news story” regarding the installation of the defibrillator.

They said that the tone of Edinburgh Live’s story had been altered from the original piece and alleged that this had caused “immeasurable harm” to the family.

Edinburgh Live removed its story the day after receiving the complaint via IPSO.

It accepted it was inaccurate to refer to Mr Carrie as a “dad” and apologised directly to his family and published a standalone correction.

In its defence, the site said publication had been handled sensitively and the error was neither deliberate nor malicious.

IPSO found Edinburgh Live did not dispute it had inaccurately reported Mr Carrie was a father, and it had not set out what care it had taken prior to publication to ensure that this was accurate. All other aspects of the family’s complaints were dismissed.

The complaint was partially upheld, and the full adjudication can be read here.