A child who suffered permanent brain damage after contracting the E.coli bug during a school visit to a farm will receive "several million pounds" in damages, a High Court judge has been told.

Tom Dowling was on a trip from Edgware Infants School in north London to Bowman's Open Farm near St Albans, Hertfordshire, when he contracted the bug two years ago.

He narrowly escaped death after the bacteria attacked his kidneys and brain and left him in a coma for 12 days.

Now the six-year-old can only communicate by blinking and faces life in a wheelchair.

Lawyers representing the boy and his mother Tracy sued the London Borough of Barnet and the farm, where there had been two cases of E.coli poisoning in the previous six weeks.

On Monday the council and farm jointly admitted they were 95% responsible for Tom's plight and offered his mother a £200,000 interim payment before the case is heard to determine the size of the settlement.

His mother said the initial payment will enable her to look after Tom seven days a week at her home in Edgware, north London.

Daniel Brennan QC, representing the boy, told the judge, Mr Justice Brian Smedley: "The case is particularly tragic. Tom Dowling when four years old went to an open farm on a school visit.

'Strong effect'

"The safety of children at such farms is particularly important, especially to keep children safe from E.Coli and the O157 strain which affected this boy and which can have a very strong effect on young children."

The infection led Tom to suffer haemolytic uraemic syndrome. leaving him brain damaged.

Health experts traced the infection to a goat.

The child's parents claimed the farm - which had up to 30,000 visitors a year - acted negligently in failing to ensure it was safe and Barnet council failed to check whether the farm was suitable for children.

E.coli 0157 bacteria is carried in the gut of livestock and can release powerful toxins in the human body.

Mr Brennan said the two other children who had earlier contracted the bug at the farm had suffered far milder infections.

He said Barnet education authority and the farm knew about the earlier incidents but took no immediate action.

Mr Brennan said: "It is quite clear this claim will be worth several million pounds."

Edward Southwell, representing the farm and local authority, said both "very much regret" what had happened.

Warning to parents

He said there had been a failure to "apply sufficient attention to the detail of personal hygiene".

The farm had since reopened and there had been no further trouble from infections.

Tracy Dowling said outside the court she was "delighted" that liability had been admitted after a two-and-a-half year battle.

She said: "I was angry when I found out that Tom's was not the first case at the farm and realised that somebody was to blame for what happened."

Mrs Dowling said she had never been warned about the risks faced by children visiting farms and warned other mothers to make sure hygiene safety measures were taken.