PC Paul Briggs: Wife asks to end policeman's life support

Lindsey and Paul Briggs, who have been married since 2000, also have a daughter

A judge has been asked to decide whether life support treatment for a policeman in a coma should be stopped.

Paul Briggs, 43, suffered a brain injury in a crash while he was working at Merseyside Police in July 2015.

His wife Lindsey said treatment should be stopped "given his previously expressed wishes" but doctors treating him suggested a "further period of rehabilitation".

The Court of Protection in London is due to decide in November.

In July, Chelsea Rowe was jailed for a year for hitting Mr Briggs in a head-on collision in Birkenhead as he was riding his motorcycle to a nightshift.

Different diagnoses

On Tuesday, the Court of Protection - where judges consider issues concerning people lacking mental capacity to take decisions - was told Mr Briggs had been diagnosed as being "in a minimally conscious state" by his doctors at The Walton Centre in Liverpool, and an independent doctor.

In a written statement, a barrister representing the hospital said it believed Mr Briggs required "transfer to a specialist rehabilitation placement" and that he "would benefit from a more socially stimulating environment".

The court also heard from barrister Victoria Butler-Cole, representing Mrs Briggs, that another independent doctor had diagnosed Mr Briggs as "being in a permanent vegetative state".

PC Briggs previously served as a soldier in the Gulf War and Northern Ireland

The policeman, who was an army veteran, had not made any advance decision in writing about what should happen in such circumstances, the court heard.

Solicitor Mathieu Culverhouse, who is also representing Mrs Briggs, said after the hearing that his client believed the withdrawal of treatment was in "Paul's best interests given his previously expressed wishes, his injuries and his current condition and prognosis".

Mrs Briggs, who was not at the hearing, said in a statement: "It is much worse than if he had died at the scene; being unable to grieve as he is still alive, yet with each day becoming less optimistic of his recovery."