A six-year-old boy still looks like a baby due to a rare disorder.

Saad Macabangen should have been in primary school by now but he remains in bed, unable to stand or sit on his own from his bed in Maguindanao, del Sur, the Philippines.

The youngster was diagnosed with Kernicterus - a neurological condition that only affects 1 in every 44,000 newborns - that stunted his growth and speech development.

Footage shows painfully-thin Saad wearing infant diapers, unable to speak, and with fists clutched as he coughed.

Cousin Yash Andao said: ‘I feel so sorry for him. He can't walk and can't eat. He can only drink milk. I feel so bad for him.'

The sick boy is the eldest of four siblings, so his impoverished mum said she could barely provide for the child's needs.

Mum-of-four Nor Ain said she noticed that the boy had stopped growing when he turned two years old.

She said: ‘We thought everything was normal but he became very thin and looked like a baby.'

Now, Norr Ain said her family relies on good Samaritans for donations of milk for her sick son. She has not been able to afford the complex medical treatment, which involves using an exchange transfusion as used in the treatment of newborn jaundice, according to Britain's state-run health service.

Norr Ain said: ‘Sometimes I feed him sugar mixed with water. I put it in a feeding bottle because that's all we have. It's hard. I can't explain how hard it is for me and my husband.'

Kernicterus is a rare and serious complication of untreated jaundice in newborns. It is caused by bilirubin deposits in the brain, which can damage the brain cells and lead to a variety of problems.