An elderly Japanese man who was given to the wrong parents at birth has successfully sued a hospital because he was raised in poverty instead of in a life of luxury.

The 60-year-old man, who is keeping his identity secret, said he wishes he could ‘roll back the clock’ after learning that his real parents were wealthy and that his true brothers enjoyed a lavish lifestyle.

Instead, the man was raised by his non-biological mother, who was also struggling to support her other children following the death of her husband.

The baby she came away with by mistake from the hospital 60 years ago grew up through a life of welfare hardship and became an unmarried truck driver.

Now a Tokyo district court has ordered the hospital to pay £250,000 in damages for its 1953 error, which saw the man switched with another baby boy who came into the world just 13 minutes later.

The decades-old mistake was realised when the wealthy family’s three younger brothers had DNA testing done on their oldest sibling – who looked nothing like them – after their parents died.

Then they set out checking hospital records before confirming the identity of their biological eldest brother last year.

All four brothers – including the one who should have had a more lowly upbringing due to the accidental switch – have now formed a bond and are working on rebuilding the lost years.