£15m award for girl's cerebral palsy.

A girl whose brain was starved of oxygen before her birth at a hospital has been awarded more than £15m in damages from the NHS.

Holly Greenhow, 12, has had cerebral palsy since she was born at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in 2005.

Her family's lawyers sued the NHS trust that runs the hospital to help Holly live independently in the future.

Representing North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Alex Antelme QC, told the court it was a tragic case and the impact on Holly was "self-evident.”

Judge David Pittaway QC awarded the settlement at the court, which lawyers said had a lifetime value of £15,480,000.

Holly Greenhow was born at the hospital near her home in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on 18 November 2005, and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, leaving her with communication problems and other disabilities.

In spite of that, she has modelled for fashion retailers, Boden and Tesco.

In 2017 her family paid £10,000 for pioneering stem cell treatment in the US, which Mrs Greenhow said had made a huge improvement to Holly's life.

The trust agreed to pay Holly a £6.4m lump sum, along with annual payments to cover the costs of her care for life.

The annual payments, agreed on the basis of 75% liability, start at £110,000 a year and rise to £200,000 after she reaches 19.

The £15m figure is based on Holly living to 60, her mother said.

Medical director at the trust, Dr Kanchan Rege, said: "We can confirm that the court has recently approved a settlement relating to a long-running case involving a birth injury at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

"The care received was investigated in detail but due to patient confidentiality we are unable to provide further information about the case."

Speaking after the High Court decision, Mrs Greenhow said it was "quite a surreal feeling"  that the case had concluded after 12 years.

She added: "No amount of money or apology will ever bring back what we should have had with Holly."