A schoolboy whose fractured skull went untreated after out-of-hours doctors refused to see him is to receive compensation for clinical negligence.

Rees Ross, 12, clashed heads with another child during a game of football in 2004 and went home feeling ill.

His mother phoned for medical assistance, but was told each time to give him painkillers and to let him sleep.

It was only when Rees began fitting that he was taken to hospital and an extradural haematoma stemming from a skull fracture was diagnosed.

The child had life-saving surgery, but now needs a wheelchair and has trouble communicating. Medics said that if he had been seen earlier, the fitting may have been prevented and Rees’s disability could have been avoided.

West Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust has now agreed to pay an undisclosed sum in compensation for the delays it caused in treatment.

According to BrainandSpine.org.uk, skull fractures often cause bleeding close to the brain, which can put pressure on the organ. It must be treated quickly if brain damage is to be avoided.