A teenager who suffered life-threatening injuries when he was hit by a van outside his school was today awarded £3.7 million damages.

Jamie Heaton, 16, was nine when the accident happened in October 1995 in Creech St Michael, near Taunton, Somerset.

He was playing games with friends outside school and was struck by the wing mirror of a passing van.

The youngster, who now lives with parents Andrew, 48, and Glynis, 46, in Brighton, suffered severe brain injuries.

Deputy Judge Walter Aylen QC, sitting at the High Court in London, said Jamie was "resuscitated at the roadside by a passing anaesthetist and admitted to the local hospital".

A ruling on liability in Jamie's favour was made in 1998. The damages will be paid by the driver's insurer.

The judge said the boy had "special educational needs, disinhibited behaviour and cognitive impairment" as a result of the accident.

The family's solicitor, Stuart Brazington, said Jamie would need a high level of care for the rest of his life.