A TROWBRIDGE teenager is suing the NHS for more than £100,000 damages after his traumatic birth at Bath's Royal United Hospital left him disabled for life.

Liam Harding, 19 claims a doctor used too much force when delivering him, causing nerve damage from which he will never fully recover.

Now his lawyers have issued a writ at London's High Court, claiming six-figure damages from the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Trust.

Mr Harding’s mum, Sally Ann Plank, suffered from asthma and high blood pressure and her pregnancy was known to be high risk, the writ states.

Her painfully slow labour at the hospital went on for hours in July 1996 before Liam was finally delivered.

Ms Plank recalled "a rising sense of urgency and panic" after Liam's head was delivered but his shoulders got stuck.

She remembered feeling the doctor in charge "pulling as she pushed".

Mr Harding was born with a condition called Erb's Palsy, which resulted in partial paralysis of his right shoulder and arm, the writ states.

He "required physiotherapy with every nappy change" for 18 months, but still did not make a full recovery.

Now he still suffers "ongoing and permanent symptoms".

His right arm is shorter and less developed than his left and, throughout his childhood, he was "always protective of his right arm".

Although his overall recovery had been very good, he had to "struggle through at school", his lawyers say.

In the writ, Mr Harding’s barrister, John Coughlan, values his compensation claim as "a sum exceeding £100,000".

He claims that a doctor used too much "traction" when bringing Mr Harding into the world.

The NHS trust's defence was not available from the court and the contents of the writ have yet to be tested in evidence before a judge.