Pope Francis leads tributes to Alfie Evans after sick UK toddler dies following long battle

Pope Francis has led tributes to Alfie Evans, following the passing of the terminally ill UK toddler.

The toddler's death comes a week after the UK Supreme Court approved a plan to withdraw treatment for the young boy.

"I am deeply moved by the death of little Alfie," he wrote, adding: "Today I pray especially for his parents, as God the Father receives him in his tender embrace."

A number of UK personalities also took to Twitter to send their thoughts and prayers to the little one's family, while thousands of locals released balloons outside the Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, where he was being treated.

At just 23 months old, Alfie died at 2.30am local UK time after battling chronic seizures since 2016 as a result of an undiagnosed degenerative brain disease.

Alfie's "heartbroken" parents Tom Evans and Kate James wanted to take Alfie to a hospital in Rome where he would continue to receive palliative care.

Doctors had told the couple they could provide no further treatment for the young boy.

After a number of life-support treatment legal battles, they failed to persuade the Supreme Court that their child was being unlawfully detained in hospital.

The court refused the parents permission to appeal the decision, with judges saying the hospital must be “free to do what has been determined to be in Alfie’s best interests”.

Earlier this month, a judge said Alfie’s health condition was “profoundly unfair” and endorsed an end-of-life care plan, which included switching his life support off.

Alfie’s parents had hoped to keep the toddler on life support while they raised enough money to transport him to Italy.

Hundreds of people were also seen this month protesting outside the hospital where Alfie was receiving care in Merseyside, in north-west England.