THE family of a severely disabled youngster have had to abandon a nine-year legal fight for compensation.

Ken and Eveline Waring, had battled to sue the doctor's surgery, which they claimed failed to spot their daughter's symptoms soon enough.

They have had to end their battle, designed to give Katie, ten, a better quality of life, after legal aid ran out.

Katie, from Hartlepool, was left with brain damage and cerebral palsy that is thought to stem from a rare condition known as craniosynostosis.

She has a mental age of six months and cannot walk. She suffers from fits, severe vomiting and is partially sighted.

Her parents believe damage could have been minimised if the symptoms were spotted in the first three months of life.

They attempted to sue the surgery that examined Katie at least fortnightly before she was seven months old.