Mum of tragic Archie Battersbee vows to 'fight' decision to turn off his life support

The mum of a boy whose life support must be turned off after a judge ruled he was legally dead has vowed to "fight" to keep him alive. Hollie Dance, 46, says her 12-year-old son Archie Battersbee has squeezed her hand, despite being in a coma for the past 10 weeks.

Archie was rushed to hospital on April 7 after he was tragically brain damaged attempting an 'online challenge' and doctors at The Royal London Hospital believe he is “highly likely” to be brain dead.

Earlier this week Mrs Justice Arbuthnot gave medics permission to end his life support. But Hollie and Archie’s dad Paul Battersbee, 56, have now launched an appeal against a court's decision to take the schoolboy off life support.

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In an interview with the Daily Mail, Hollie said: “I was told my son would not last the night when he arrived in hospital. Yet here he is ten weeks later.

"He’s a fighter, and is fighting the battle of his life - how can I not fight every bit as hard? All we have ever asked for is time. People are in comas for months but the hospital wanted to pronounce my son dead after just three days when he was still under sedation.

“Archie should be treated as a living patient until it can be proven that he’s not — and the MRI scan they have relied on is not proof. What I know is that a boy who can squeeze my hand is not brain dead. I defy any mother not to do the same if they were in my situation.”

On the day of Archie's injury, Hollie had taken him out for food. They came home at 3pm and were supposed to be seeing the new Batman film that evening. At around 4pm, Hollie took a phone call in her bedroom and Archie wandered in with his pet