Screams heralded a nightmare

News that the five-in-one jab will not use the mercury-based preservative thiomersal will be welcomed by Holly Durrant.

She believes it was thiomersal, given to her son Alexander in a separate jab against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTP), which triggered his autism.

Alex was three months old when, she says, he had "an incredibly bad reaction" hours after his first DTP jab. "He screamed non-stop throughout the vaccination and then, from being a baby who would sleep right through the night, he just would not settle. There was difficulty breastfeeding and he was very unhappy."

But her GP said all children react similarly, so she allowed two follow-up jabs.

A year later Alex was diagnosed with autism after Ms Durrant, 31, from Hertford, read about the link with DTP and insisted on seeing a specialist. She says: "He used to spend up to three hours at a time spinning CDs or the wheels on his toy car round and round non-stop. When I picked him up, he would arch away and scream. He lost eye contact. He wasn't walking or talking."

A single mother and a former teacher, Ms Durrant has had to give up work to care for Alex and says: "I would not wish this experience on my worst enemy."