Boy wins £120,000 damages for narcolepsy triggered by swine flu vaccine

Ruling comes after government claimed illness was not serious enough to merit payment, and opens door for up to 100 families to seek compensation

A 12-year-old boy has been awarded 120,000 by a court that agreed he had been left severely disabled by narcolepsy triggered by the swine flu vaccine, following a three-year battle in which the government had claimed that his illness was not serious enough to merit payment.

The ruling is expected to lead to as many as 100 other families of people affected by the sleeping disorder after receiving the vaccine bringing fresh compensation claims, in a dispute where the government's initial hostility was described by the family's legal team as offensive.