A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy has undergone pioneering surgery to stop his heart pumping blood the wrong way around his body.

Alec Hutchinson was born with a rare condition which meant the blood vessels in his heart were plumbed in back to front.

The life-threatening abnormality meant that there was little oxygen in his heart and he had no chance of survival.

But four weeks ago brave Alec endured eight hours of surgery to reverse his blood flow and is on the road to recovery.

His condition, called Congenitally Corrected Transposition, was corrected by a 'double switch' procedure to turn his heart around.

It was the first time experts at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle had carried out the complicated surgery, but following the success of the operation they will now offer it to other youngsters suffering from the condition.

Alec is now recovering at home with parents Lynne Hall and Brian Hutchinson of Dipton, County Durham, who know how lucky they are to have their son back.

Mr Hutchinson, 41, a maintenance engineer, said: "Alec is back to his old self, bossing everybody around. He's been a brave lad.

"He wouldn't speak to us for about five days after the operation. He had been kept under anaesthetic for five-and-a-half days. But he soon came round.

"We're just so pleased to have him back. Since the operation he's been able to ride his bike again."

Mrs Hutchinson, 30, a nursery assistant, added: "I'm over the moon now it's all over. He's back to his cheeky little self.

"We would just really like to say thank you to everybody who supported us. Alec's grandparents have been great."

Doctors discovered Alec had the condition when he was just five weeks old.

An initial operation was carried out to improve his condition but the family was told if they had not brought him in to hospital it could have been a very different story.

They were told Alec would need the huge 'double switch' operation while he was still very young.

Mr Hutchinson said: "Everyone thought it was just a viral infection at first but we knew something was wrong. He was just crying all the time and it was as if he was panting for breath.

"They ran tests and eventually found he had an irregular heart beat. Then we were told things were bad and he had a hole in his heart."

Alec was rushed from the University Hospital of North Durham to the cardiology ward at the Freeman Hospital, where the family met surgeon Dr Asif Hasan.

He was closely watched with many appointments over many months until, at last, the rare operation was performed to transform his heart.

Everything went to plan and now Alec has been reunited with his sister Lauren, eight, and will return to his nursery at Burnopfield Primary school soon.

Dr Hasan, said: "Alec's heart was pretty scrambled really. The blue blood which comes into the heart was coming into the wrong side.

"We had to switch the blood vessels around so his heart was correctly connected. It's a big operation but it went well and was better than we expected. He was out of intensive care quickly and now he is home."