Dropping its case in High Court, Herefordshire Primary Care Trust ended its bid to force a terminally-ill girl to have a heart operation, after a child protection officer revealed that Hannah Jones was insistent that she would not undergo surgery.

Hannah, 13, of Marden, near Hereford, won the right to die after she refused to undergo a heart transplant for a hole in her heart, saying since there were no guarantees it would work, including having to take constant medication following the operation, she wanted to stop treatment and spend the remainder of her life at home, where she could die in dignity.

Her parents support her decision, saying how 'very proud of her' they are of her decision that was not taken lightly. To quote Hannah's father Andrew, 43 told the Daily Telegraph: 'It is outrageous that the people from the hospital could presume we didn't have our daughter's best interests at heart. Hannah had been through enough already and to have the added stress of a possible court hearing or being forcibly taken into hospital is disgraceful.'

A former leukaemia sufferer, Hannah has been taking drugs from the age of five, leading to the weakening of her heart. Warned that she has only six months to live and the only potential long term solution is a heart transplant, Hannah, who has had enough of hospitals, does not wish to undergo any more operations, but simply wants to come home to spend the remainder of her days amongst family.

However, in the eventuality she does change her mind at any time; there is always the possibility of her going back on the waiting list.