The mother of a six-year-old Shropshire boy today said he had tested positive for swine flu as the virus continues to sweep through the county.

Natalie Murray said her son Lewis had run a high temperature and been “really poorly” after he went down with the virus the weekend before last.

Miss Murray, 32, of Castlecroft, Stirchley, in Telford, said: “He had a temperature of 102F and I was really worried.

“He wouldn’t eat or drink and he was very off-colour. He was also very, very lethargic and that is just not like him.

“Lewis is normally full of beans and has bags of energy.”

Miss Murray said Lewis was swabbed for swine flu after he became ill and the family doctor rang her on Wednesday to say the test had come back positive.

Yesterday, it was revealed that three youngsters from the same family in Telford had been struck down with suspected swine flu.

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Miss Murray’s friend Alannah Jones, of Culmington, Stirchley, claimed her six-year-old Nathanial and 12-year-old Aaron were recovering at home, and Lydia, aged eight, was now back at school.

And it comes as it was revealed 14 people in the UK are now thought to have died after contracting swine flu and dozens more are critically ill with the bug.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson said there were now 43 people in critical care in England with the virus and another 292 people being treated in hospital.

There are at least 9,718 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK – with the son of former Nolans singer Coleen Nolan among those who have caught the bug.

She said her 16-year-old Jake was in quarantine at home after being rushed to the doctor’s with a raging fever and headaches. He is now on the mend, the Loose Women presenter said.

The UK’s swine flu case total is the third highest in the world after Mexico where the bug was first identified, and the US.

Sir Liam said all the UK patients who have died so far had other health problems.

By Simon Hardy