The parents of a nine-month-old boy who is being kept alive on a ventilator have gone to the High Court to fight for his right to life.

They are at odds with doctors who believe the child is in pain and has no chance of getting better. The medical staff want to be allowed to take him off the ventilator and die in peace.

The case bears a striking resemblance to that of Charlotte Wyatt, a severely disabled baby whose parents battled through the legal system four years ago to keep her alive.

He has brain damage and has been on a support machine since he was just three weeks old because he cannot breathe unaided.

Last week he was in a critical condition after catching an infection, but is now stable in intensive care. Medical staff have given him morphine but told the court that keeping him alive would only cause further pain.

One doctor giving evidence said OT was likely to die within weeks if he was taken off the ventilator: "There is no prospect or hope of a cure."

She told the court that throughout his short nine month life, OT had never shown any sign of recognition or happiness and withdrew when anyone touched him.

She said that all the staff helping to care for him had been affected by how much pain he was in.

"To keep him on the ventilator would condemn him to a life of suffering with no prospect or hope of a cure because the damage to his brain is so great," she said.

"There is no hope for the future. The only thing we do is inflict pain on him. I do not think he should suffer it any longer."

The hospital claims it would be in OT's best interests to be taken off the ventilator and given palliative care until he dies.

But Mr and Mrs T - his parents - are opposing the application by the NHS Trust responsible for the hospital.

They still hope that a miracle cure will cure their son and they want him to be kept on the ventilator to give him a chance.

Judge Mrs Justice Parker, who is hearing the case, is expected to give her decision later this week.

In 2005, Charlotte Wyatt's parents managed to ensure their daughter - who was given a five per cent chance of survival after being born three months premature - would be resuscitated if she fell ill.

The doctors had argued that keeping her alive was not in her best interests, but contrary to expectation, at the age of five she is still alive.

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