Radwan Hamed: Ex-footballer wins case against Tottenham after heart attack leaves him with catastrophic brain damage

A former youth football player who suffered catastrophic brain damage when he had a heart attack playing for Tottenham Hotspur has successfully sued the club.

Radwan Hamed was 17 when he collapsed playing for the Spurs youth team during a game in Belgium in August 2006.

Hamed - who had only signed his first professional contract with the club days earlier - suffered devastating brain damage as a result of oxygen starvation.

Hamed's family said his injuries resulted from the negligence of Dr Peter Mills, a cardiologist who screened his son, and of the club through Dr Charlotte Cowie and Dr Mark Curtin, the specialist sports physicians it employed.

Mr Justice Hickinbottom ruled that the club was 70% liable and Dr Mills was 30% liable.

He said Dr Cowie, who was head of the medical services department, made a serious error of judgment when she concluded that the teenager showed no risk of an adverse cardiac event.

The final compensation figure is still to be assessed, but reports suggest the damages owed to Mr Hamed could be as high as £7 million.

Speaking after the ruling, the former footballer's father, Raymon Hamed, said: "We are very happy today because we have been waiting for this a long time. We are very relieved."

A spokesperson for Tottenham Hotspur said: "The club wholeheartedly regrets that a former employee, as adjudged, was remiss in their duties to Radwan.

"This judgment will hopefully now secure the best possible treatment and care for him.

"The club has been supportive of Radwan and his family over the past 10 years and we wish them well for the future."