A BABY girl who was born severely brain damaged in her parents' car during a hail storm has been allowed to die with dignity by a High Court judge.

The girl's mother was in labour when her parents' journey to hospital was delayed by icy roads in January.

She was born in the car and, by the time she arrived at hospital, was in a critical condition, said Mr Justice Peter Jackson.

Medics managed to revive her but the girl, now eight months old, has never left intensive care and has never even opened her eyes.

Now the judge, sitting at the High Court in Manchester, has granted Bolton NHS Foundation Trust permission to turn off her life support.

He told the court: "The likely consequence of this decision is that she will soon die.

"Given her sad experience of life, I hope that she will have a peaceful death."

The little girl cannot breathe without mechanical support and, apart from facial grimaces, gives little sign of interacting with the world around her.

Scans showed catastrophic damage to her brain.

The judge added: "She does not open her eyes and makes little or no spontaneous movement."

Doctors treating her were unanimous in their views that there was no chance of any meaningful recovery.

The girl's grief-stricken parents played no part in the case.

The court heard the father had been hostile to medical staff treating her.

He expressed himself in "vitriolic terms" about the care she has been given, the doctors and nurses, and the hospital.

The judge added: "The court is familiar with disagreement or even mistrust between doctors and parents.

"But the level of antagonism expressed by this father towards those treating his daughter is beyond my experience".

Mr Justice Jackson said he had "no doubt" that it would not be in the girl's best interests to continue life support.

He said: "Even if she survives, she has no future to look forward to.

"She can experience none of the joys of life but at best a continuous series of medical interventions.

"I end by expressing the court's sympathy to this girl's parents and its appreciation of the dedicated professionalism of her doctors and nurses in exceptionally difficult circumstances."

The judge gave his decision on October 19, but his ruling has only just been published.