A BOY who was born with his heart back to front will have a pacemaker fitted.

Alec Hutchinson, three, from Dipton, near Consett, was born with blood vessels in his heart the wrong way round, leaving him with little oxygen in his blood. The abnormality meant he had no chance of survival without surgery.

Staff at the Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, performed a rare procedure to correct the defect, but Alec was left with an irregular heartbeat.

Now surgeons will perform another operation, on a date to be arranged, to fit a pacemaker.

Alec's mother, Lynne, 30, said: "We were always told having a pacemaker fitted was a possibility, but it still came as a shock when they told us.

"He is back home and back to his old self, but he was left with an unusual heartbeat."

His father, Brian, said: "I was worried about it when I first heard. It was the last thing any of us wanted, but apparently, they are great these days - it is just a tiny little implant.

"He has done great and this should fix the problem. The surgeon was over the moon about how well he has done so far."