Amanda Ludlow, a 13-year-old girl from Cheshire, has been awarded �1.7m after a hospital mistake left her with cerebral palsy.

She was starved of oxygen at Leighton Hospital, Crewe, when she was born in 1985. Her twin sister Katie, born eight minutes later, was uninjured.

South Cheshire Health Authority, which manages the hospital, admitted negligence.

In a second case, Velma Hurst, a 33-year-old Enfield woman, left severely brain damaged after negligent treatment at the Chase Farm Hospital during pregnancy in 1989, was awarded �1.6m damages by the High Court in London.

Permanent brain damage

The court was told that Ms Velma Hurst was so sick in the early stages of her pregnancy with a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum that she suffered vitamin deficiency that led to permanent brain damage.

Described now as 'a danger to herself', Miss Hurst has since been cared for by her mother and sister with help from full time professional carers.