Archie Battersbee: Parents lose appeal over life support

The parents of a 12-year-old boy on life support have lost an appeal to continue treatment.

Archie Battersbee was found unconscious at home in Southend, Essex, on 7 April and doctors at the Royal London Hospital believe he is brain dead.

Court of Appeal judges were asked to postpone their ruling as Archie's father, Paul Battersbee, had been taken ill outside court, but they refused.

The judges said it was in Archie's best interest to give a judgement today.

He has not regained consciousness since his mother Hollie Dance found him. She believes he had been taking part in an online challenge.

Ms Dance also wanted appeal judges to adjourn their ruling on the basis that she had witnessed indications that Archie, who is attached to a ventilator, had twice tried to breathe for himself in the last few days.

Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs the hospital in Whitechapel in east London, had taken the case to the courts to get a ruling on what was in Archie's best interests.

Judges in two separate High Court hearings had previously ruled against his parents, who wanted treatment to continue while his heart was still beating.

It means life support treatment can lawfully end.

In the court's ruling, Sir Andrew said medical staff had seen "no signs of life" in Archie and his "every bodily function is now maintained by artificial means".