When Nicholas Woodcraft reaches for a banana Nesquik for breakfast, his mother despairs.

Not because she wishes he would opt for porridge or toast, but because she fears her son will never eat another type of meal in his life.

Nicholas, 11, survives on a diet of the powered milkshake, and has never eaten solid food.

He drinks a whole tub of the powder a day, along with two to three pints of semi-skimmed milk, out of a beaker.

His mother Rosanne, 45, claims her son has gone so long without eating that his jaw 'doesn't know how to chew'.

Not only is he getting a staggering 2,800 calories a day from the 500g tub washed down with three pints of milk, he is also consuming an astonishing 98 teaspoons of sugar a day - excluding the natural sugars found in milk.

Nicholas Woodcraft, 11, survives on a diet of banana Nesquik which he drinks out of a beaker. He drinks a whole tub of the milkshake a day, along with two to three pints of semi-skimmed milk

Nicholas used to eat other puréed meals and liquids from his beaker, but for the last two years has refused anything except Nesquik

Mrs Woodcraft worries her son will be bullied over his bizarre diet when he begins secondary school

Up until two years ago he would eat a more varied diet of puréed meals and other liquids, but for the last two years he has refused anything except Nesquik.

Mrs Woodcraft has tried for more than ten years to force her son to eat solids, calling in professional help and even attempting bribery, but to no avail.

Remarkably, Nicholas has never been ill despite his limited diet, and he loves baking cakes - though has never eaten any of his creations.

Now he is just about to start high school, Mrs Woodcraft fears he will face bullying from other children over his milkshake dependence.

Mrs Woodcraft, from Portishead, Bristol, said: 'It makes me really sad because sometimes I know Nicky wants to eat, but he can't physically bring himself to do it. He doesn't have the ability to chew food.

THE BOY WHO SURVIVES ON BANANA NESQUIK Nicholas Woodcraft's daily diet consists of: One 500g tub of banana Nesquik Two to three pints of semi-skimmed milk This means he is eating a staggering 2807 calories in total. A tub of Nesquik contains 390g of sugar, the equivalent of 98 teaspoons. And that is excluding the natural sugars found in milk. Three pints of milk contains around 31g fat, one gram less than the World Health Organisation recommends an adult should eat a day. Nesquik is fortified with vitamins C and D, thiamin, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and zinc. He drinks around 20 beakers of milkshake a day, before and after school. Not eating lunch leaves him extremely tired in the afternoons, his mother said. Advertisement

'We've tried everything and seen so many specialists, but they've never had any effect. He completely shuts off when we try to talk to him about food.

'His teachers have been very kind about it, but I'm petrified about him starting high school in September and being bullied.'

As baby, he was breastfed as a baby for two months before moving onto formula milk.

But when Mrs Woodcraft and husband Robert, 52, attempted to feed him solid food from a baby spoon, he would scream and reject it immediately.

Mrs Woodcraft, a web designer, said: 'From six months old when we tried to wean him, he would freak out if I offered him food off a spoon. He never picked stuff up and put it in his mouth like other babies. By age one, we could see he wasn't going to grow out of it.

'We consulted our health visitor and a paediatrician, who thought he might have autism. He was examined in a feeding clinic and eventually diagnosed with selective eating disorder, but nothing came of it. They just couldn't make him eat.

'I started blending all his food and putting it in a bottle, really liquefied and mixed with milk.

'I had to cut the end of the teat off so that he could actually get the food out, but that was the only way he would take it.'

Nicholas has three siblings, none of whom struggle with feeding, but even their good example can't persuade him to eat anything.

Friends at school also try to help, though Mrs Woodcraft claims Nicholas doesn't have the ability to eat, even if he wanted to.

Nicholas has never eaten solid foods as he has 'never learned how to chew', his mother claims. But while he will not eat he is not scared of food, and loves to bake

As a baby, Nicholas could not be weaned on to solids and so his mother puréed all his meals in a bottle. As he grew older, the family's attempts to get him to eat real food all failed

THE BANANA NESQUIK DIET: AN EXPERT'S VIEW Helen Bond, a dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), said Nicholas’ diet is ‘not what a nutritionist would call healthy and balanced’. She told MailOnline: ‘He’s eating a lot of calories for a child. The guidelines for children are 1,800 calories. I don’t know how active he is but if he’s not expending these calories through exercise he will put on weight. ‘Also, liquid calories don’t make you feel full. If he’s feeling quite lethargic and tired it’s because he isn’t getting a slow release of energy. ‘The sugar found in Nesquik is "free sugar" which the World Health Organisation is warning people to cut down on. 'This isn't the same type of sugar that is found in starchy carbohydrates that contain B vitamins [such as wholegrains]. ‘The lactose, the sugar in milk, is still sugar, but it’s not the free sugar that the World Health Organisation is warning about. ‘If he’s drinking the Nesquik regularly from a beaker - rather than, say, through a straw, it would concern me as it could cause tooth decay. 'He will have strong bones, as his calcium and phosphorous levels will be topped up, she said. She continued: ‘All his protein requirements will be met as milk is nutritious, and he’s getting some calories from fat. ‘He’s getting a lot of vitamins for his immune system, vitamin C, zinc, iron. ‘But it’s not the haem iron we get from red meat, that boost our haemoglobin levels and helps oxygen be transported around the body.’ She added: ‘He’s not getting any plant nutrients, which have a wealth of health benefits. ‘He’s also missing out on the social aspect of eating, eating together as a family, which comes with mental wellbeing. ‘Moving forward, you’ve got to look at whether these eating patterns will follow him into adulthood, which is when problems could arise.' Advertisement

Mrs Woodcraft said: 'When he started school aged four, he wasn't allowed to eat his food from a bottle, so it really went downhill.

'That's when he moved onto the Nesquik banana milkshake which is now his entire diet.

'He only has it before and after school, which makes him really tired in the afternoons.

'I got him to eat a Petit Filous yoghurt once, but it took about six months of trying to actually put the spoon in his mouth.

'I felt so cruel and didn't want to see him distressed, so I don't force him to eat anything now.

'When his baby sister Isabel was born and he saw her trying out solids and sucking on a French fry, I thought it might influence him a little bit - but nothing!'

Despite his eating disorder, Nicholas is 'an IT genius', loves video games and is even learning programming.

Coming from a family of food lovers, he also loves to bake cakes - but won't ever eat them.

Mrs Woodcraft said: 'He absolutely loves to bake but while the rest of us will lick the cake mixture off the spoon, he'll just watch.

'If we go out to a restaurant, he doesn't order anything and sits there drinking water through a straw. I don't think it upsets him that much, but it's sad for the rest of us.

'I have Cuban heritage so as a family we eat both Cuban and English meals. My life revolves around food, I love cooking dinner and plan the day's food when I wake up every morning.

'Nicholas' favourite pureed meal when he was little was chorizo and beans.'

While Nicholas doesn't eat, he isn't scared of preparing or handling food.

Mrs Woodcraft continued: 'He'll happily make me a sandwich.

'The daft thing is he loves having a birthday cake and has already picked out a Batman one for his birthday next month, but he has never tasted cake before.

'He'll asks me what something tastes like, whether it's sweet or savoury. And if I say I'm hungry, he'll say "why don't you have a cookie?"

Nicholas' diet of Nesquik powder and milk costs around £50 per week - £30 on Nesquik and £20 on milk - as he uses far more than the recommended serving of three teaspoons.

Nicholas, pictured left eating custard and blended carrots on Christmas Eve in 2013, a meal he will no longer eat, and right with his sister Isabel, who is nearly as tall as him even though she is just five years old

Nicholas has four siblings, none of whom have trouble with eating, but their good example cannot encourage him to try solids. Mrs Woodcraft is pictured with (from left to right) Isabel, Dominic and Nicholas

Though consuming only milkshake would be considered unhealthy, Mrs Woodcraft says her son has a surprisingly strong immune system.

She said: 'He uses around half a cup of Nesquik powder so he gets plenty of calories.

'The shocking thing is he has never been ill, not even a cold or a fever. He should be the poster boy for Nesquik.

I got him to eat a Petit Filous yoghurt once, but it took about six months of trying to actually put the spoon in his mouth. I felt so cruel and didn't want to see him distressed, so I don't force him to eat anything now

'When he was a baby he was lovely and plump, but now he's small now for his size.

'Isabel has nearly caught up to him, even though she's only five. His teeth are awful as well because chewing food gets rid of a lot of plaque and he doesn't do any chewing.

'He brushes his teeth three times a day but we still have a lot of trips to the dentist.'

Despite the ongoing battle to encourage Nicholas to eat, Mrs Woodcraft believes there is hope.

She said: 'After a friend's party last week, he said he wanted to try a Dorito. I bought a packet and he was really excited, but it took him half an hour to eat one crisp.

'I tried to encourage him to carry on, but he'd had enough and hasn't wanted them again since.

'I'm tempted to try hypnotherapy next. There's also an incredible feeding clinic at Great Ormond Street Hospital for kids with dietary problems, but unless the NHS refer us, it's going to cost £500 per hour which we can't afford.'

Nicholas is pictured waiting at the table while his father Robert and sister Isabel are enjoy ice-cream. 'I wish we could make him eat, but I don't want to punish him for something he can't help,' his mother says

Her biggest worry is that Nicholas' bizarre eating will make him a target for bullies in high school.

She said: 'He's classed as a "vulnerable" child at primary school because he won't eat and has had a support worker to try and help him.

'His notes will be passed on to his new school, but it's the reaction of the other kids that concerns me.

'I wish we could make him eat, but I don't want to punish him for something he can't help.

'I used to try to force him and it was a constant fight, with food down his face and all over me.

'But I thought, "why am I going to do this to him?" It was horrible to see him suffer.