A judge today guaranteed a huge compensation payment - possibly £1million - for a boy who suffered brain damage when he was kicked in the head while playing on a bouncy castle.

Sam Harris was 11 when he suffered a fractured skull in the accident at a birthday party in Medway in September 2005 .

The party was organised by Timothy and Catherine Perry, of Jersey Road, Strood, for the 10th birthday of their triplets. High Court judge Mr Justice David Steel ruled that the Perry's were liable. They are insured.

The judge said there had been a "shortfall in supervision" because an older - and larger - boy had been allowed to use the inflatable at the same time as Sam.

The amount of Sam's damages are yet to be assessed but his lawyers say his claim is worth in the region of a million pounds.

The judge dismissed claims that Sam's father, David, also bore responsibility for failing to keep a close enough eye on his son.

Janet and David Harris said after their son's victory:"Our sole motivation for pursuing this claim was, and has remained throughout, to obtain damages for our son Sam, who suffered a very serious injury in this accident.

"We are both relieved that the court has found that Mr and Mrs Perry were negligent as this will now enable us to obtain the specialist support and treatment that Sam needs.

"Whilst we never wanted the case to conclude at trial, we are pleased that this has provided an opportunity to highlight just how dangerous bouncy castles can be if they are not supervised properly.