FRIENDS of a couple faced with an escalating £40,000 NHS bill after the premature birth of their son have set up a crowdfunding page.

Paul Barnes, originally from near Lewdown, and who used to play rugby for Launceston, and his fiancée Sophie Henley, welcomed their son Archie seven weeks early, on January 23. He weighed just 2.8lbs and was delivered by emergency cesarean section.

But as Paul had moved to Zambia ten years ago, joined by Sophie around four years ago, the couple have been told they will have to pay the bill.

As of February 22, this stands at £40,000, and they have been told they have to pay a 150% tariff as they are not from the European Economic Area.

The bill is expected to increase, as since his birth, Archie has spent most of his life in intensive care at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

Paul and Sophie had returned to the UK to visit friends and family over Christmas, as they have done every year, and had sought advice from the British High Commissioner in Zambia before their trip. They were told they were not able to get insurance for Sophie, as she was already expecting, and were told it could ‘cost a lot of money’ if they got to the UK and their baby was born there.

Paul said: “We weren’t paying National Insurance or income tax in Britain and we did look to back pay that, but we were told back paying would only help with a state pension. It wouldn’t help in anyway whatsoever with the bill with the NHS.

“Archie was born here. We don’t know when he’s going to be able to return to Zambia. He’s surely a resident here himself at the moment.

“We are planning at some point moving back to Britain. We are not in Zambia indefinitely.”

Paul added they ‘never renounced’ their British citizenship and are on permits in Zambia.

Archie had been doing well in hospital, until on Sunday night he unfortunately had some breathing problems and was moved back into high dependency.

Paul has already had to return to Zambia once since Archie was born, and he plans to go again next week. He has a safari business there, and as they are self employed and facing the NHS bill, he said it is ‘more important than ever’ to make sure the business is running smoothly.

The couple took the opportunity to visit friends and family when they could as they knew they would not be able to travel with their baby for a while once he had arrived. They set off for the UK in December with a ‘fit to fly’ note. Archie was not due until March 13 and Paul and Sophie had been due to return to Zambia on February 5.

Archie could be in hospital for months to come, and fees are being incurred daily.

Paul said: “In many respects we are quite glad we were here when this happened. The medical facilities in Zambia are probably not up to scratch for it."

To donate to the crowdfund, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/help4archie

A Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “While we are unable to comment on individual cases, our prime concern is to look after the patients in our care and help them, or their carers, to understand any rules or regulations that may apply to their treatment while they are with us.

“Department of Health regulations state that we are legally obliged to apply appropriate charges for overseas visitors. These charges are determined by residency and those eligible for free treatment need to be living in the UK voluntarily and for settled purposes. Individual NHS Trusts have no authority to waive or reduce charges for patients identified as chargeable overseas visitors, although urgent and necessary medical treatment will never be withheld due to charging/payment issues.”