A landmark court ruling has resulted in a mother being given a £76,000 payout after hospital blunders left her daughter severely disabled.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gave birth at Medway Maritime Hospital some years ago but her daughter developed cerebral palsy after mistakes were made.

A cardiotocography, which records foetus' heart beats, showed ominous signs the unborn baby was in trouble and there was a delay in delivering her.

The Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which admitted negligence, faces having to pay the girl millions in damages to cover the costs of a lifetime's care.

But now in a first-of-its-kind case they must also pay the mum £76,138 after judge Philippa Whipple ruled she was the "primary victim" as leading up to the birth the pair were "one and the same" and the "same legal person".

The High Court heard the woman's mental health has "collapsed" since the horrific experience of watching her baby battle for life.

She now frequently runs away from her home and switches off her mobile phone, leaving her husband desperate.

The trust's lawyers argued denied she had suffered a "shock" so severe that it caused a "recognised psychiatric injury."

Her mental health problems were largely caused by the stress of having to look after a severely disabled child and her suffering was "not sufficiently proximate" to the negligent birth to justify a compensation award, they argued.

But Mrs Justice Philippa Whipple said compensation was the least the mother deserved for the anguish she had suffered.

"He thinks she blames herself for their daughter's birth and has lost confidence and independence..." - Mrs Justice Philippa Whipple

She only recalled "fragments or glimpses" of the birth, but remembered her baby being taken away from her immediately after delivery.

The first time she saw her daughter, she was "in a plastic box" in the hospital's special care baby unit, surrounded by wires and tubes.

"She was not allowed to touch her. She felt useless. She put her hands on the box and had wishful thoughts about her being OK," said the judge.

The woman most recently ran away from home last month and after a frantic search was found by her sister sitting in her car in a park, crying refusing to go home and blaming herself.

The judge added: "Her husband tells me she runs away when she cannot cope. He thought she had done so about 10 times.

"He thinks she blames herself for their daughter's birth and has lost confidence and independence."

Awarding the damages, the judge ruled the cause of her mental health problems was "closely linked" to her daughter's negligent birth.

The judge concluded: "It is settled law that a baby is part of its mother until birth. There is, up to that point, a single legal person.

"It flows from that principle the mother is a primary victim in so far as she suffers personal injury consequent on negligence which occurs before the baby is born."

The judge acknowledged the payout was "a relatively small sum of money" but it was "obviously of great importance to her" to prove the trust responsible for her psychiatric injuries.

The judge paid tribute to the family for the "dignity and patience" they showed during the trial of the case.

The amount of compensation the trust will have to pay the girl has yet to be calculated, but is bound to run into millions.

The family's barrister Richard Booth QC earlier told the court the mother was still haunted by "frequent flashbacks" to the birth and "experienced nightmares".

She felt "helpless and worthless" and, in the witness box, she said she was "absolutely petrified" when she became pregnant again.

"I have to prove I am the best mother, but deep inside I feel like I can't do anything..." - Mother

She added: "I bottled everything up. I am strong; I am independent; I did not want anyone to worry about me. I did not want anyone to think I couldn't cope.

"I have to prove I am the best mother, but deep inside I feel like I can't do anything."

Speaking after the court decision the trust’s deputy chief executive said it respects the courts decision and will now work with the family to resolve other issues.

James Devine said: “The events which were the subject of this case took place some time ago.

“Following an internal investigation which took place following the delivery the trust accepted that there were shortcomings in the standard of obstetric care provided.

“The trust very much regrets these shortcomings and has apologised to the family for the failings identified and admitted more than five years ago.

“The issues which were considered by the court last month were subject to separate consideration and involved points of law.

“That said, we respect the decision of the court and our legal representatives will now work with the lawyers representing the claimant’s family to resolve the outstanding issues.”