Charlie Gard's mother is helping a young family in a race against time to save a toddler who doctors say should be 'allowed to die'.

Alfie Evans, who is 15 months old, is in a coma at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool with a condition staff have struggled to diagnose.

Experts believe he might have mitochondrial disease, the same as Charlie, who died on July 28 shortly before his first birthday.

Alfie's distraught parents Thomas Evans, 20, and Kate James, 19, have claimed medics have told them to 'withdraw life support' to enable him to die peacefully.

They have launched a campaign to raise £50,000 to take him to America for experimental treatment.

Alfie's aunt Sarah Evans has said Charlie's mother Connie Yates has been 'brilliant' in offering the family invaluable advice on fundraising and mitochondria specialists.

Alfie Evans (left) is in a coma at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. His father Tom (right) is hoping to take him to America for treatment

Alfie's aunt Sarah Evans has said Charlie Gard's mother Connie Yates has been 'brilliant' in offering the family invaluable advice on fundraising and mitochondria specialists

Alfie has been in the hospital's intensive care ward since last December and suffers regular seizures.

Many supporters of Charlie Gard have rallied around the family in recent weeks amid fears doctors could mount a legal battle to turn off life support.

Alfie's parents are desperately looking for pioneering treatment abroad which they believe might be able to help their son.

In a statement, the family said: 'The doctors have indicated that his parents should withdraw life support and "allow him to die peacefully" because that's "in his best interest"'.

His father added: 'We are fighting tooth and nail to save our baby son while he is ignored and denied opportunities.

'Alfie has brain function - he is not in a vegetative state - he is not brain dead.

'He has a future and a life in front of him to live. He hasn't given up and neither are we.

'We spend every waking precious moment with him. We love him so much. He is our world.

'He is currently intubated and has a ventilator helping him to breathe, but is also seen by doctors and family taking breaths himself.

'He has come off life support three times and shown he can manage a maximum of 13 days without the ventilator.

'We believe that there is someone out there who knows and can help us find out what is wrong with Alfie, so that we may create and follow a proper medical plan of care for him.

'We believe that our son is a precious gift that we are blessed with and we have been given him for a reason, to get him through whatever life throws at him and us.'

Alfie (pictured) has been in the hospital's intensive care ward since last December and suffers regular seizures

Alfie seemed a healthy, smiley baby in his first few months, but his parents took him to the doctor after noticing he was still very weak.

They said they were told he might just be a late developer, but then had to rush to hospital when he sloped back in his chair and began having strange jerking movements.

Alfie's condition deteriorated and doctors at Alder Hey diagnosed him with pneumonia, bronchitis and other infections.

He then suffered seizures and slipped into a coma shortly afterwards. His condition is still undiagnosed.

Alfie's seizures are becoming more regular and his family say they are taking a serious toll on him.

His aunt said: 'He's on a very rapid decline at the moment, and you can tell he's exhausted from the seizures.

'At this point we're literally grasping at any leads we can get...but the doctors seem to just be leaving him to die.

'We've been told to make him comfortable, they seem to think he's going to give up by himself in the next few days. His heart has dropped to 40-something beats.

'The doctors aren't trying anything that Thomas keeps pushing for.

'Thomas is constantly pushing for the doctors to try CBD, a drug that has been proven to work for other children with similar symptoms to Alfie.

'But nothing is happening. It's just not fair. At the moment it's just a case of waiting to see if anyone is able to draw up a plan of action.'

The family has launched an Alfie's Army Facebook page which already has 33,000 members, and has raised more than £17,000 via an online funding page.

Alfie is in a coma at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool with a condition staff have struggled to diagnose

An Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: 'We understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for the family concerned and we continue to liaise directly with them.

'We are unable to comment on individual cases. Alder Hey is a specialist children's hospital which therefore means we treat many children with often complex, life threatening conditions.

'Unfortunately despite the best efforts of our clinicians, some of these children are sadly unable to recover from their illness.

'In such a situation, medical professionals will meet to discuss the most appropriate care plan going forward, focusing on the comfort and wellbeing of the child concerned.

'The Trust will often seek advice from specialist clinicians at other trusts. The care plan is always discussed in full with the family to reach agreement between clinicians and parents about the most appropriate care.'