Chris and Maggie Bourne were shocked when their son, Andrew, was born without eyes. "We were totally and utterly devastated. We had never heard of a child born without eyes," said Mr Bourne.

When the midwife told them, Mrs Bourne chided her: "Don't be so silly - children are not born without eyes".

The couple were worried about how he and they would cope with his blindness. "Everything we do is through sight and vision," said Mr Bourne, a fireman for 32 years.

At first, they struggled to look after him. As a baby, Andrew used to lie on the floor for long periods. Doctors said he was too afraid to get up and crawl around.

"We did not understand that he was scared and frightened of the wide open spaces. He could feel the floor and felt safe," said Mr Bourne.

Eyeless babies are extremely rare and for the first six years of his life, the couple had no idea how it had been caused. They were convinced that genetics was not to blame since there was no sign of anything like that in either of their families.

Then they began to connect it with Benlate when reports started to appear in the media. Mrs Bourne was a keen gardener, and she used to spray the fungicide regularly on their fruit and vegetables. She remembers using Benlate during the three to seven weeks of pregnancy when the eyes of a foetus develop.

She wore no protective mask or gloves, and the spray went over her hands, legs and feet.

Her face was often bathed in mist. It took up to an hour to finish all the spraying.

Now the Bournes have a simple message for the Du Pont : "We would just like them to say sorry". The Bournes are hoping for a substantial compensation package from the corporation to look after Andrew for the rest of his life. DuPont is fighting the couple's claim.

The 15-year-old goes to a special school for the blind in Kent during the week. "We lose him from Monday to Friday. We only see him at weekends," said Mr Bourne.

They are now looking to place him in a college for the blind where he can learn day-to-day skills, such as cooking. But such colleges are even further away from home, so he will be away from the family for whole terms.