‘As his mother I know he is still in there’

The mother of a brain damaged boy in a coma has said she will appeal against a court decision to allow his life support treatment to end.

Archie Battersbee, 12, was found unconscious at his home in Southend, Essex, on 7 April.

In a written ruling, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said that based on the evidence she had heard from specialists, Archie died on 31 May and that mechanical life support should now end.

Hollie Dance, Archie’s mother, said: “His heart is still beating, he has gripped my hand, and as his mother, I know he is still in there.”