A terminally ill patient has lost his final legal appeal, to the European court of human rights, to try to ensure that he will receive nutrition and drink when he is close to death.

Leslie Burke, 46, from Lancaster, has a degenerative brain condition which could destroy his physical powers but leave his mental faculties intact. He fears that doctors could withdraw nutrition when he is helpless to convey his wishes.

He learned he had lost his appeal while attending his brother's funeral in Ireland, who had the same condition. He said he was extremely disappointed: "I only hope that if I am lucky enough to be in hospital, that the doctors treating me will not believe at some stage that it will be in my best interests for ANH [artificial nutrition and hydration] to be withdrawn, even when death is imminent, effectively letting me die of starvation and thirst when I am no longer able to communicate my wishes."

Mr Burke originally won a ruling supporting his rights over the opinion of doctors, but that was overturned by an successful appeal by the General Medical Council which argued doctors must be able to decide treatment in the best interest of patients.

He appealed to the European court of human rights, which in a written judgment said there was no "real and imminent" threat that nutrition would be withdrawn, and it was satisfied UK law was in favour of prolonging life wherever possible. The judgment said where a patient could not communicate, artificial nutrition should continue as long as it prolonged life, but added in some circumstances such treatment could hasten death, so it was impossible to lay down rules as to what was in a patient's best interest.

Mr Burke's lawyer, Muiris Lyons of Irwin Mitchell solicitors, said: "The court has effectively determined his application is premature.

"However once he loses the capacity to make his own decisions, he will also lose the ability to make such an application in his own right. It is a Catch-22 situation."