A dying mother has vowed to use human rights laws to force her health authority to give her life-saving drugs.

Mother-of-seven Sarah Steele has breast cancer and has been told by her consultant the best treatment for her is the drug Herceptin.

However, Adur, Arun and Worthing Primary Care Trust (PCT), which is responsible for paying the £30,000 cost of the treatment, says the drug is not licensed in the UK and it has a duty to ensure patient safety.

The move has been criticised by Mrs Steele, 42, and her family, who have accused the PCT of refusing to use the drug because it is expensive.

Mrs Steele's doctors have also criticised the decision, saying the advantages of using it outweigh the risks.

Now Mrs Steele and her family have vowed to fight the PCT all the way and are calling for it to reverse its decision.

Mrs Steele is being supported at her home in Pendine Road, Worthing, by her children Julia, 22, Tom, 21, Ben, 19, George, 18, Alice, 16, Jack, 14 and Amelia, 11.

Her sister Bernadette Whittle, 49, and sister-in-law Ann McCabe are also determined to make sure she gets the treatment she needs.

Mrs Whittle said: "We are not going to go away. We are going to be here pushing and pushing all the time until that drug is given to Sarah.

"She is a young mother with everything to live for and a family to bring up."

Herceptin is used in America and Europe and is said to give patients a 50 per cent greater chance of survival.

But it is not licensed by the NHS except for patients with advanced stages of the cancer, although it is expected to become more widely available when the National Institute for Clinical Excellence approves it next year.

Her consultant Sankha Mitra, who is based at the Sussex Cancer Centre at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, says she should be given a course of Herceptin after she completes chemotherapy in March.

Mr Mitra wrote to the PCT asking for funding for the drug but was refused.

Mrs Steele said: "I am just simply so angry and so frustrated but I am going to fight this. It is crazy that someone who should be focusing all her efforts on her health has to go through this but I won't let them beat me.

"This is the treatment a specialist doctor says I should have but I am not getting it. It is appalling.

"I was devastated when I heard my treatment had been refused.

"What chance have I got if they take that lifeline away? Radiotherapy is not enough. I need that drug to give me an extra chance of survival."

The family is now in talks with a solicitor and plans to appeal against the PCT's decision.

Mrs Steele said: "We will take this all the way to the European court if we need to. We are not giving up."

David Bloomfield, head of oncology at the Sussex Cancer Centre, said: "The consultant oncologists in the Sussex Cancer Network have agreed Herceptin is a major advance in treatment.

"We feel this should be available to women for whom the drug is suitable where the advantages outweigh the risk.

"We recognise this is a high cost treatment but the decision on funding needs to be taken by PCTs who commission health care."

Sarah's MP Peter Bottomley has written to the PCT and Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt supporting her case to be given the drug.

In a statement, the PCT said: "We understand how difficult the position is for this patient and her family and are very mindful of her personal circumstances.

"At the same time, we must also make sure the NHS is providing the best service it can and is offering the most appropriate treatment for a patient.

"We must put patient safety first. This is not yet a licensed drug for early stage breast cancer and there are a number of clinical concerns.

"The NHS has a duty to ensure that patient safety is paramount and that any medication prescribed has been shown to be safe."