The High Court judge having to decide on whether a sick child should live or die has heard how the baby has "no feelings other than continuing pain".

Charlotte Wyatt was born three months prematurely last October weighing just one pound (450g) and measuring five inches (12.7cm). She has been resuscitated three times since and her doctors are saying she should be allowed to die naturally if she becomes critically ill again.

Charlotte's parents have gone to the two-day hearing that started today at the High Court to argue that the 11-month old has a real chance of survival and that everything possible should be done to keep her alive in the future. They believe that resuscitation should be administered if required to prevent her dying.

Daniel Lock, counsel for the Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which is caring for Charlotte, told Mr Justice Hedley this morning that its consultants thought she should die in peace. The judge's ruling could set a precedent for future right-to-life cases.

One consultant stated that to resuscitate Charlotte for a fourth time would be "purposeless and, therefore, intolerable to her". Another doctor said that Charlotte fell in into the most extreme category in terms of profound neurological handicap. The doctors said that she had a life expectancy of less than one year.

Mr Lock summarised the consultants' findings by telling the judge that: "They are of the view that Charlotte has life-limiting conditions and that, despite their best efforts, she has no feelings other than continuing pain."

The mother of the desperately sick baby described her anguish last night. Debbie Wyatt, 23, who is pregnant with her third child, rubbed her bump protectively at her council flat in Portsmouth.

Mrs Wyatt and her husband, Darren, 33, have vowed to fight the hospital all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

"It has all been very difficult for us," Mrs Wyatt told The Times. "It has been so stressful, especially with me being pregnant again. I just hope the judge makes the right decision. We want to cling to any chance we have."

Mr and Mrs Wyatt try to visit Charlotte every day in St Mary's Hospital in Portsmouth, where she has her own room. They have hung a colourful mobile over her cot and on a shelf are pictures of Jesus, a cross and a china bowl with a prayer that reads: "Dear God, please bless me and look after me as I sleep."

They say that, on a good day, she looks around, recognises them and even manages a smile. However, her two-year-old brother Daniel visits less often because the family GP believes that her condition could be to blame for his nightmares.

Charlotte is Mr Wyatt's fifth child: he has three children, aged 13, 12 and 8, from his first marriage and he and his wife moved from Birmingham to Portsmouth so that he could see his other family more often. Mrs Wyatt was a care worker in an old people's home and her husband a trainee chef, but both have given up work because of stress.

The hospital said last night: "Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust's sole motivation for going to the High Court has been our concern for the best interests of Charlotte Wyatt. The Trust is grateful that Charlotte Wyatt's parents through their barrister at court have made it clear that the care provided to Charlotte to date has been of the highest standard and they have no criticism of the way the hospital has treated their child."

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