Now Mr and Mrs Darren and Lisa Ford, of Lisbon Drive, want to warn other parents about the dangers of the bacterial strain of the disease, which struck nine-year-old Joshua and left him with just minutes to live.

Chelsea fan Joshua, a pupil at Ightenhill Primary School, became ill on August 26th when he complained of a headache. "He was also really hot," said Mrs Ford. "I rang NHS Direct and they said he probably had some sort of virus. We moved Josh's mattress into our bedroom and opened the window to cool him down and he was sick two or three times during the night."

The next morning when Joshua was sick again and had developed a purple rash all over his body, Mrs Ford rang for an ambulance and Joshua was rushed to Burnley General Hospital.

"The ambulance crew said he only had 10 minutes to live. It was awful, it didn't look like my son lying there. They told me straight away it was meningitis," she said.

After a seven-hour battle by staff at Burnley to stabilise his condition, Joshua was taken to Pendlebury Children's Hospital, Manchester, where he remained in a coma.

His parents kept a bedside vigil, reading to him and playing his favourite music and, despite doctors' predictions the talented young footballer might not recover, Joshua stunned those around him by waking up and immediately asking for his parents and a bacon sandwich.

But the family were dealt a blow when they were told he would need to have his legs amputated below the knees to save his life. "Josh had developed meningococcal septicaemia and the infection attacked his legs. Signing the consent form for the operation was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. But we were completely honest with Josh. We wanted him to understand that his legs had to be amputated to save his life," said his mum.

After just seven weeks in Pendlebury and Booth Hall Children's Hospitals, Joshua, his parents and sister Lauren (8) have returned home but Mr Ford said his son "reversed medical science" to recover so quickly.

"We were told Josh wouldn't be home until Christmas at the earliest and wouldn't be able to have the operation until April. He is a fighter, our little miracle."

Joshua, a member of Ighten Leigh Junior Football Club, now faces physiotherapy and has an appointment to discuss being fitted with prosthetic legs next week.

"He is looking forward to getting new legs and being able to play football again and he has even started to make jokes about his legs, which the doctors said is a good sign."

Mrs Ford said the family faced an uphill struggle to give Joshua the care he needs. She has quit her job as a manageress to be her son's full-time carer, but said they would have to wait months for financial support.

"All the time we were at the hospital we wanted to come home but now we are back home the practical help isn't here, we feel completely on our own and that has made everything worse.

"But we want to thank all our family and friends, Darren's employers, our landlords, medical staff and everyone involved for their support.

"We just want other parents to be aware of meningococcal septicaemia. The rash Josh had wasn't like we expected for meningitis, it was like when you put ink into water. If any parents are worried their child might be ill they should make sure to get it checked out by a doctor straight away, even if it turns out to be nothing serious.

"It was nearly too late for Josh."

You can leave a good luck message to brave Josh and his family below - or warn others of your own experiences with the deadly brain bug ...