Desperate hunt for sick little boy

AN INTERNATIONAL search for a critically ill 5-year-old boy with a brain tumour was continuing yesterday as police said time was running out.

Detectives searching for Ashya King said he had been taken from hospital by his parents without the consent of his doctors and was believed to be travelling in France with his six siblings.

They warned that the situation was growing more serious by the hour. The battery in his feeding tube, which is keeping him alive, would have probably run out.

Ashya was taken from Southampton General Hospital at 2pm on Thursday by Brett King, 51, and his wife Naghmeh, 45. The hospital alerted police at 8.35pm, by which time the family, from Southsea, Portsmouth, had sailed with Brittany Ferries to Cherbourg.

The Kings are Jehovah’s Witnesses, a faith whose members often refuse blood transfusions, although the motive behind Ashya’s removal is unclear.

His paternal grandmother yesterday called for him to be returned to Britain.

A family friend said Naghmeh King had run away in desperation because they cannot accept that there is nothing that can be done for their son.

Katie Fletcher wrote on Facebook that they wanted to look for help abroad. ‘‘ Please don’t judge – they are a very sweet loving family and I can only believe they are doing this because they want to help their son.’’

Interpol issued a missing persons alert at the request of Hampshire police. Chris Shead, the assistant chief constable, said yesterday: ‘‘Within the past hour, we have been told by medical experts that the battery life on the machine that administers his food is now likely to have expired.

‘‘ We don’t know whether the King family have any spares, any way of recharging the battery or the knowledge to do so. If they don’t, without properly administered food, Ashya’s condition will deteriorate very quickly.’’

Ashya is said to have undergone extensive surgery, with his last operation being only seven days ago.

Patricia King, his grandmother, said he began treatment a month ago after doctors originally diagnosed his illness as arthritis. She called on her son, Ashya’s father, to bring him home and said that Ashya’s diagnosis had plunged the family into a ‘‘terrible state’’.

‘‘He’s recently got a lot better – he’s moving his arms and legs and is beginning to smile and notice the people around him. We were all getting more hopeful lately but when the news devastating.’’

Before they disappeared, his father told nursing staff they were going to a coffee bar in the hospital.

The hospital faced questions about why it waited six hours to call police, after Brett King was shown on closed-circuit television leaving hospital with Ashya at 2pm. But the hospital said Ashya’s parents were allowed to take him off the ward and staff contacted police ‘‘after a search of the site and attempts to contact the family were unsuccessful’’.

There was speculation the family might head to Spain as Ashya’s mother is understood to be a Spanish speaker.

Jehovah’s Witnesses said in a statement there was ‘‘ no indication’’ the family’s decision was motivated by religious conviction.

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