A YORK man has added his support to the parents of terminally ill Charlie Gard as they await a judge’s ruling on whether treatment should be withdrawn.

Charlie Gard is eleven months old, and suffers from a rare genetic condition called mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome and has brain damage. His parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates want him to undergo experimental therapy in the US, but doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital said there was no evidence the treatment would improve his quality of life, and Charlie’s life-support treatment should be stopped.

David Hayes, from Strensall, said doctors misdiagnosed him as suffering with brain damage and cerebral palsy between the ages of two and five, but his life was changed almost 50 years later when experts discovered his condition was a congenital deformity of the knee and hip. Now, following a series of operations, the former national vice chairman of Scope had knee and hip replacements and operations on his shoulder ball and socket to ease his pain.

While his condition is not similar to baby Charlie’s, he said he believed the 11-month-old should be given the opportunity to have the treatment, even if chances of its success were slim.

Mr Hayes, now 61, said: “I believe Charlie Gard should be released from GOSH to go to America for immediate treatment.

“I met many 23-week survivors whilst at Scope who were all described as not viable, and parents were advised to have life support removed. Some of those currently enjoy a good quality of life because loving parents fought for them.”

Mr Hayes has also liaised with police on disability and equality, and briefly stood as candidate in the Police and Crime Commissioner elections last year.

He said: “It’s emotive because sometimes a child has extreme problems and we have to think ‘is this worth trying’. If they do try it and it doesn’t work, they have to let go, they can’t keep him alive on machinery waiting for a cure.

“Thousands of people with cerebral palsy enjoy good quality of life, and given there is a 10 per cent chance of improvement with Charlie, this option must go ahead.”