A HEREFORD teenager who has suffered with a devastating illness for much of his life will feature in a Channel 4 documentary tonight.

The programme, Inside Birmingham Children's Hospital, will follow a chapter in the life of Hereford Cathedral School pupil, Charlie Tobey, who contracted autoimmune hepatitis in the womb.

At the time of his first liver transplant, at the age of only two weeks, he was the youngest person in the UK to have undergone this operation.

Charlie, who is now 15, went on to have two more liver transplants and spent a lot of time in the children's hospital.

He said: “I think the hospital is amazing. I spent three months there last year so it really did become ‘home’.

"The consultants, doctors and nurses have all been brilliant and that’s why we want to help support Birmingham Children’s Hospital."

Charlie had led a full and healthy life until 2009, when his body started to reject his liver from his first transplant.

As his health deteriorated it became clear that Charlie would require a second transplant.

Charlie's father, Chris, became a live donor, but unfortunately this was not successful and very soon Charlie was put at the top of the Super Urgent European Transplant List.

After a lengthy and agonising wait for his family, Charlie received his third liver transplant on July 15, 2015 and was finally able to leave Birmingham Children's Hospital after almost three months.

Charlie is now back in school and doing pretty much everything that a 15-year-old boy does.

His mum, Rachel, said: "We are also keen to raise awareness of organ donation.

"It is a conversation that every family should have. The hospital has been fantastic.

"We were first there 15 years ago for Charlie’s first transplant and never in a million years did we think that we would have to go back.

"For three months last year we did not leave the hospital so it really did become home for us. Despite feeling really ill Charlie stayed positive. We are really proud of him.”

Inside Birmingham Children's Hospital will be broadcast at 9pm on Channel Four on Thursday (June 9).

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