Court to decide on coma victim

Yorkshire Regional Health Authority said court proceedings were being launched in respect of Tony Bland, 22, who has been in a coma since the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 'to seek clarification of the law and the options available'.

Mr Bland is in a permanent vegetative state with no prospect of recovery, and his parents want him to be allowed to die. The issues for the court to consider are whether artificial feeding amounts to medical treatment and whether it would be unlawful to withdraw it.