A 12-year-old boy from Oxfordshire who is facing a lifetime of acute disability after being starved of oxygen at birth today won £5m compensation.

Daniel, who suffers from cerebral palsy and lives with his parents, Tina and Stephen, in Middleton Stoney near Bicester, was born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford on April 18, 1995, after his mother endured many hours of traumatic labour.

Despite handicaps that mean he will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life, Daniel was described at the High Court as a "good looking, sparky and personable" youngster.

Mrs Godfrey was admitted to the hospital at 8am, but Daniel was not delivered until the early hours of the following morning.

The couple's lawyers argued hospital staff had failed to adequately monitor her labour and Daniel's birth was negligently delayed.

The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust admitted liability for Daniel's injuries in 2004, shortly before his ninth birthday, and today agreed to a compensation deal worth £5m. The trust is in the process of preparing a statement.

Defence counsel, Stephen Miller QC, issued a public apology to Daniel and his family on behalf of the NHS trust and said the trust's chief executive would be writing to the family shortly to formally repeat those regrets and wish them well for the future.