DOCTORS have saved the life of a three-year-old boy by repairing his punctured lung with glue.

In a procedure similar to fixing a tyre, the hole in Hassan Chaudhary's lung was plugged with surgical adhesive.

It is the first time the operation has been performed in the UK and has proved such a success that Hassan, from Stockton, was allowed home this weekend.

The youngster's lungs collapsed during treatment for a serious infection and doctors warned his parents, Asad Majid and Kelly Blakemore, that he may not survive.

But heart surgeon Asif Hasan and his specialist team at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital refused to give up. They inflated the three-year-old's left lung using a small "balloon" and glued the puncture in the wall of the organ to stop it collapsing.

The operation was a success and Hassan is expected to make a full recovery and live a normal life.

Hassan's troubles began two months ago when he fell ill and was diagnosed as having pneumococcal pneumonia.

By the time he arrived at the Freeman Hospital his lungs had already stopped functioning and his parents were told his only chance of survival was a machine which oxygenates the blood outside the body.

The machine has only been used ten times in the world and only three of those patients have survived.

It was while on the machine that Hassan's lung collapsed when he was given a drug to thin his blood.

Ms Blakemore, 30, said: "It's an absolute miracle he is still with us. Now he is so well and the doctors are hopeful his damaged right lung will repair itself with time.

"It's better than winning the lottery - I just can't believe we are all back home as a family again."