Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth previously lost a High Court battle to ensure their daughter, Indi Gregory, continued to receive life-saving treatment.

A spokesman for the Christian Legal Centre, which is backing the pair, said on Thursday the ECHR had "rejected" an application to hear the case at its courts in Strasbourg.

The Christian Legal Centre said Indi's parents initially wanted a European judge to "prohibit" the withdrawal of "life-sustaining treatment" until the ECHR had considered the case.

Indi is being treated in Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham for a mitochondrial disease which saps energy from the body's cells.

Judge Justice Peel ruled earlier this month that doctors could lawfully limit the treatment being provided to the eight-month-old, against her parents' wishes. They failed to persuade judges to overturn this decision.

Specialists say she is dying and bosses at the hospital's governing trust asked Mr Justice Peel to rule that doctors could lawfully limit treatment provided to her.

Barrister Emma Sutton KC, who led Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's legal team, told Mr Justice Peel that Indi was critically ill and had an exceptionally rare and devastating neurometabolic disorder.

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She said the treatment Indi received caused pain and was futile.

Mr Justice Peel had considered evidence behind closed doors, but he allowed journalists to attend the hearing and ruled that Indi, her parents and the hospital could be named in reports.

He ruled that medics treating Indi and a guardian appointed to represent her interests could not be named.