Family to hold private funeral for Alfie Evans

The family of Alfie Evans have announced his funeral is to be held on Monday Credit: Family picture

A private funeral for 23-month-old Alfie Evans will be held next week, it has been announced.

In a statement, Merseyside Police said a small number of officers would be in attendance at the funeral of Alfie, who died shortly before his second birthday following a long-running legal battle about whether to continue his life-support treatment.

Well-wishers will be invited to pay their respects by lining the pavement near Goodison Park in Liverpool as the funeral procession passes on Monday morning.

Chief Inspector Chris Gibson said:

In a post on the Alfie's Army Facebook page, his uncle Daniel Evans said:

Doctors at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool stopped providing life-support treatment to Alfie last month after his parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, lost two rounds of fights in the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights.

Mr Evans and Ms James had hoped to take Alfie, who had a degenerative brain disease, to a hospital in Rome.

Alder Hey Children's Hospital said staff had experienced "unprecedented personal abuse" as it found itself at the centre of a "social media storm" as a result of the case.

Protesters attempted to storm the hospital and blocked the road outside during demonstrations against the withdrawal of his life-support treatment.