Ill baby's parents fly to bedside

Ben is seriously ill in hospital in Liverpool

A seriously ill baby has been airlifted to hospital in Liverpool as there are no spare intensive care beds for babies and young children in Northern Ireland.

His parents have said intensive care services for children in Northern Ireland were not good enough.

Ben Marshall was born nine weeks premature and spent a month in hospital before being allowed home.

However, after developing a chest infection, the child is now in a serious condition.

His mother Michelle and her husband flew out on Saturday to be with their son in hospital.

Before travelling, she said: "We had a wee baby that died last year and you're just so worried that he would die on his own. I just wish we could be with him."

The Marshalls took their son to the Ulster Hospital, but were told there was no place for him.

In a statement the Department of Health said: "While each case of a small baby requiring to be transferred is very traumatic, the actual numbers involved are relatively small.

"In the last five years only four newborn babies were transferred outside of Northern Ireland because there was no specialist cot available."