A five-year-old boy from Kent has won millions of pounds in compensation from the NHS after a medical error in the hours after he was born led to acute brain damage.

Marcus Wright, who lives in Deal, received an "unreserved public apology" from the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust for the mistake.

He was born at the Kent and Canterbruy Hospital, Canterbury, in April 2003, but medics failed to spot an anal rectal malformation which, at that stage, could have been effectively treated.

The problem meant Marcus' bowels could not open normally. Necrosis set in in his bowels and Marcus' life was only saved by emergency treatment at Great Ormond Street children's hospital.

Marcus was left acutely brain damaged. He has to be fed through a gastrostomy tube, his vision is badly impaired, he cannot speak and will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

Through his mother, 22-year-old Becky Craggs, Marcus sued the NHS Trust, who admitted liability for his injuries at an early stage and issued a public apology to the boy and his family.

Marcus will receive a lump sum payment of £925,000 - most of which will be used to pay for a specially adapted home in Deal - along with index-linked annual payments to cover the cost of his care.

Those payments will start at around £45,000-a-year, but will rise to £89,000-a-year when he is 12. From the age of 19 onwards, they will rise again to £145,000-a-year.

Marcus' solicitor, Mr Gary Williams, said after the hearing: "Marcus' parents are happy that his needs will now be met. These were absolutely appalling injuries."

A statement from the NHS Trust read: "The Trust is pleased that the settlement has been approved by the court and wishes the claimant well for the future."