ARCHIE Battersbee’s life-support is set to be withdrawn this morning after his family lose their fight to move him to a hospice.

The family of Archie Battersbee have been told his life support is due to be withdrawn at 10am on Saturday morning (today) after their legal fight to move him from hospital to a hospice came to an end.

A last-ditch plea to the European Court of Human Rights to intervene in the case was rejected late on Friday, following a High Court ruling that he must remain at Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London.

His parents, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, had fought a long-running legal battle over the withdrawal of treatment and in recent days made bids to the High Court, Court of Appeal and European Court of Human Rights to have him transferred to a hospice to die.

READ MORE >> Archie's family lodge appeal after ruling he can't be moved to hospice, spokesman says

The 12-year-old has been in a coma since he was found unconscious by his mother in April and is being kept alive by a combination of medical interventions, including ventilation and drug treatments.

His family have been told that treatment will be withdrawn at 10am on Saturday.

A spokesman with campaign group Christian Concern, which is supporting Archie’s family, told the PA news agency: “All legal routes have been exhausted.

“The family are devastated and are spending precious time with Archie.”

Barts Health NHS Trust did not immediately update its statement, instead referring to its previous position which said no changes will be made to Archie’s care “until the outstanding legal issues are resolved”.

In a High Court ruling on Friday morning Mrs Justice Theis concluded it was not in Archie’s best interests to be moved to a hospice, and the Court of Appeal rejected permission to appeal that decision.

Christian Concern said the family had wanted to challenge the High Court ruling by arguing there had been a violation of articles six and eight of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Article six is the right to a fair trial and article eight is the right to respect for private and family life.

But a spokesman for the European court said it had received a request from representatives of Archie’s parents under Rule 39 which allow it to apply “interim measures” in “exceptional” cases, and that the complaints “fell outside the scope” of that rule and so it would not intervene.

Doctors treating the schoolboy for the last four months declared Archie to be “brain-stem dead”, prompting a lengthy but ultimately failed legal battle by his family to continue his life support treatment in the hope he would recover.

Archie has been in a coma since he was found unconscious at his home in Southend on April 7.