Parents of sick baby Charlie Gard set for Court of Appeal hearing over ruling to end life support

The parents of sick baby Charlie Gard are preparing to stage the latest legal battle to take their son to the US for treatment.

Chris Gard, 32, and Connie Yates, 31, were left devastated after High Court judges ruled that doctors can withdraw life support from their nine-month-old son.

They want to take Charlie, who was born on 4 August, to the US for a trial treatment they hope will save his life.

The couple are challenging the High Court decision and three judges at the Court of Appeal are listed to consider the case on Tuesday morning.

Charlie is currently being treated for a rare genetic condition at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London as the legal fight over his care continues.

He suffers from mitochondrial disease which causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage.

At the three-day High Court hearing in April, doctors argued he should be moved to a palliative care regime.

Mr Justice Francis ruled in favour of Great Ormond Street, dashing Mr Gard and Ms Yates' hopes of taking Charlie to America.

The judge agreed with experts that the offer of a trial therapy called nucleoside by US specialists could not reverse Charlie's structural brain damage.

He said the case had never been about the affordability of Charlie's treatment but the baby's best interests, ruling the youngster's brain damage is severe and irreversible.

The judge praised the "brave and dignified campaign" by Mr Gard and Ms Yates, from Bedfont, west London, who have raised £1.3m to cover the cost of the treatment.

Following the High Court ruling, Ms Yates insisted the couple's fight was not them "being selfish" in keeping Charlie alive but about exhausting all options for potential treatment.

She claimed their parental rights had been stripped away by the High Court decision.

Charlie's treatment will continue at Great Ormond Street until the Court of Appeal decides on the case.

The couple have regularly posted pictures of their son on social media as part of their 'Charlie's Fight' campaign, including one of him clutching a medallion of St Jude - the patron saint of lost causes.