Hospital bosses have today agreed to pay £1.5m damages to the family of a six-year-old boy who was left paralysed after suffering brain damage at birth.

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust agreed the pay-out at London's High Court, although denied liability for what happened to him.

The court ordered the boy, who was born at Pembury Hospital in March 2009, should not be named. The trust opened its new Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury nearby in September 2010.

Mr Justice Spencer, who approved the settlement, was told that he suffers from cerebral palsy and developed quadriplegia. He needs constant care but has the love and support of his parents, David Heaton QC told the court.

Mr Heaton said he was born "in very poor condition", and added that the case was a complex one which, had it been fully fought in court, could have resulted in no damages being awarded.

The trust denied liability but offered the money to settle the claim.

Their counsel, Sarah Vaughan Jones QC, said : "This little boy is very fortunate in his family’s devotion and hard work they have put in."

The judge, in approving the settlement in the "best interests" of the boy, also paid tribute to the "devotion and loving care" of the parents.

He said the "delightful" little boy, who enjoys music, brings "great joy" to his parents and little brother, and that the whole family must be very proud of him.