A 10-year-old Oxfordshire boy with a "great zest for life" has been awarded a compensation package totalling £7.1m over medical negligence at birth which left him with severe brain damage.

Harry Snowdon, of Witney, described as a "handsome, engaging little boy", will never be able to work and will always require 24-hour care.

A judge at the High Court in London today gave his approval to a financial settlement of his claim, comprising a lump sum of £2.3m and annual payments for the rest of his life.

Harry was born on February 23, 1999, at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

His lawyers said he was delivered by Caesarean section four hours later than he should have been and by that time had sustained severe brain damage due to oxygen starvation.

After the hearing, his mother Debra Snowdon said: "We have pursued this claim to ensure that Harry is looked after and taken care of for the rest of his life.

"We are relieved that the settlement has eventually been agreed and that we will not have to worry about what will happen to him when we are no longer around."

Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability.