Baby Charlie undergoes heart transplant operation after weeks of waiting

A baby who was the youngest person in the UK needing a heart transplant has had his operation at Newcastle's Freeman hospital.

A Europe-wide appeal was launched in November in the hope of finding a heart transplant for six-week-old Charlie Douthwaite.

And now, after weeks of anguish for Charlie's family, he has received the new heart needed to save his life.

Charlie essentially had "half a heart" - he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, meaning the left side of his heart was underdeveloped.

His parents, Tracie Wright and Steven Douthwaite, say it's the most precious gift that could ever be given and that their son has a second chance at life.