A TEN-YEAR-OLD boy has died after battling meningitis for six weeks.

Haydn Harrison, a pupil at St Osmund’s School in Salisbury, died at Southampton General Hospital on Friday after bravely fighting for his life since he was first taken ill with meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia, the most serious strain of the infection, in May.

The football-mad youngster, who supported Arsenal, had had both legs and an arm amputated as doctors tried everything they could to save him but he caught an infection and died of multiple organ failure.

His devastated father Shane, 48, said: “He fought for a long time and he fought so hard. He even managed to smile despite what he was going through.

“I can’t describe what it was like. It’s something no one should ever have to go through.”

Haydn, of Stratford Road, first complained of feeling unwell with cold-like symptoms on May 9 and his mother Jeanette, 48, kept him home from school. Later that evening he said that his legs hurt and Mrs Harrison found a purple mark on one of his legs.

“I checked all over the rest of him and I found another on his chest,” she said. “A mother just knows. I called the ambulance straight away and they arrived within minutes.”

Haydn, who had an older sister Yasmin, 20, and brother Michael, 25, was taken to Salisbury District Hospital but within two hours of getting there he was covered in the purple marks typical of the illness.

He was stabilised and then transferred to Southampton later that evening where he was treated in the intensive care unit.

Mr Harrison, who works at wholesale food firm 3663 in Downton, said: “There was nothing we could have done differently. The doctors said it was the worst case they had ever seen and that if his mum hadn’t acted so quickly he would have had no chance at all.”

St Osmund’s headteacher Mark Fowler said: “Haydn was a kind, fair and gentle pupil and all of us at his school feel it was a privilege to be a part of his short life. We will miss him and always remember him.”

The school took advice from health professionals immediately Haydn was taken ill and no other children were affected or at risk.

Mr Harrison said: “I don’t want any family to go through this. Haydn didn’t have a nasty bone in his body. He was such a lovely little boy.”

A funeral service will be held at Salisbury Crematorium at 1pm on Monday, July 4.

* Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial form of meningitis, a serious infection of the thin lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

* The bacteria is carried by an estimated ten to 20 per cent of people with no adverse affect and the reason it can develop into the illness is not fully known.

* The most common symptoms are a stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, headaches and vomiting. Many people, but not all, develop a rash.

* For more information visit The Meningitis Research Foundation at www.meningitis.org.