The father of a Malling teenager battling a brain tumour is considering taking legal action after a courier firm failed to deliver material that could save his son's life on time.

Jayden Powell, 17, recently travelled to the Hallwang Clinic in Germany to undergo immunotherapy in a bid to fight the tumour which was first detected during an eye test last year.

However, the former Aylesford School pupil had to be brought home last month as the family could no longer afford the treatment, despite huge fundraising efforts from the local community.

Meanwhile, scientists are hoping to use tissue from a previous tumour to make a vaccine to destroy the disease but the process hit a stumbling block last week.

The tissue was due to be delivered from the US to the Royal Marsden Hospital, where Jayden has received much of his care, before being sent over to the Hallwang, but courier FedEx delivered the wrong package, following a mix-up with shipping numbers.

The hospital has since made a formal complaint while the teenager's father, Stephen, says he is considering legal action with his son's treatment now well behind schedule.

He said: "Germany should have had the tumour tissue four weeks ago so they could start on the vaccine.

"We are going to get legal advice because it has become a joke, and this mess-up could cost him his life. It's like we take 10 steps forward and 25 steps back.

"We're talking about a 17-year-old lad who could do everything, and now he can't. If I was like that, I'd just want to die.

"He's smiling but he's not happy. I look at him and say 'you just wan't to be normal, don't you, son?' And he nods and says 'yeah dad, I do'. It's heartbreaking."

A FedEx spokesperson said: “We appreciate the seriousness of the situation, and have apologised to our customer for the inconvenience. Unfortunately operational and customs clearance issues affected the delivery.”

To donate to Jayden's campaign, visit his GoFundMe page.