THE parents of a five-year-old boy - stricken by a deadly bug - have paid tribute to doctors at a Burnley medical centre who helped save his life.

When Barry and Jayne Whittaker saw the early signs of a rare form of meningitis in their son Ben they rushed him to St Peter's health centre, in Church Street.

Doctors immediately gave him a penicillin injection and he was promptly taken by ambulance to the Royal Blackburn Hospital for treatment.

The couple, of Hillside, had to watch anxiously as hospital doctors battled to stabilise Ben's condition. He was covered in a rash, vomiting and delirious at one point.

Barry says the first 48 hours were "the worst days of my life" as Ben's condition ebbed and flowed.

Medical experts told the Whittakers that Ben had been diagnosed with meningococal septacaemia, a rare form of meningitis which can be prove fatal if not diagnosed and treated swiftly and efficiently.

And while the Rosewood Primary School pupil's condition ebbed and flowed throughout the week, he is now up and about - and "back to his cheeky little self".

Barry, 33, said: "They told us at the hospital that because he was given the penicillin the doctors at St Peter's probably saved his life."

The family are full of praise for all the doctors and nurses who have looked after Ben since he first collapsed early on Tuesday.

Initially Barry thought that Ben, who suffers from migraines occasionally, was suffering from another headache.

But then he noticed a rash had developed, and Ben was starting to become disorientated and delirious.

Ben and his parents raced to St Peter's centre because everyone was so concerned about his deterioration.

"The doctor took one look at him, and said he was going to hospital, then gave him a big dose of penicilin," said Barry, a bus driver with Burnley and Pendle Transport.

Barry and Jayne, 32, a sales worker at Protech, have had a traumatic week, as Ben's condition alternately worsened and then improved.

But now, with medication to control his symptoms, Ben should be allowed home either his weekend or Christmas Eve.

He has been cheered up by a giant card from his classmates at Rosewood. Even though the school was set to break up for Christmas teachers organised a get well soon' message, containing all of his Year 1 playmates faces.

Staff nurse Joanne Coates said symptoms of possible meningitis cases included headaches, an aversion to bright lights, delirium, rashes and neck stiffness.

"Ben was a very poorly boy when he came to us but everyone has done a really good job and he is on the mend now," she added.