Little miracle Carys Keeley is looking the picture of health despite weighing just 1lb 5oz at birth and spending her first three months stranded 100 miles from home.

Carys' parents have finally been allowed to bring her home to Heathfield after doctors initially warned she had just a five per cent chance of survival whenshe was born 12 weeks premature.

Her mother Emma had been taken to Luton and Dunstable Hospital in Bedfordshire to give birth, because there were no special care beds available in Sussex.

The pair then had to stay in Luton while Carys battled her way to health.

Doctors asked Emma and husband Neil whether they wanted to abort her when it became clear she was going to be born so prematurely.

They decided the five per cent survival chance was still a chance and had her delivered by emergency Caesarean section.

First-time mother Mrs Keeley, 29, was told Carys would be fit for transfer to the Trevor Mann Baby Unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton after ten days.

But because no special care cots were available, Mrs Keeley and Carys ended up staying in Luton for 97 days.

It meant they were away from their home in Alexandra Road for Christmas and new year, with Mr Keeley, 32, spending four nights a week at the hospital.

The couple, who married last August, praised the care and treatment Carys received but expressed their concern at the length of time they had to spend so far away.

Nursery nurse Mrs Keeley said: "It was a stressful time being so far from home and not being able to do anything about it.

"Thankfully we had lots of support from friends and family who supported us."

Sign company accounts manager Mr Keeley said: "You half-expect not to get into your local hospital for the birth but you hope to be back there within a couple of weeks.

"What you don't expect is to spend more than three months at a hospital so far from home.

"It was a stressful and difficult time for everyone but we just hope the authorities ensure no one else has to go through what we did."

Mrs Keeley's first choice hospital would have been the Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH) but it does not have an intensive baby care unit.

Regular calls were made to the Royal Sussex to inquire about bed space but it was always full.

Mrs Keeley heard priority was given to new mothers living in Brighton and Hove.

The couple had lived in Brighton until three years ago, when they moved to Heathfield because of high house prices.

Mr Keeley said: "We pay our taxes and national insurance for such things as hospitals so it's not right we were left hanging around in Luton for so long."

Carys was born during an hour-long Caesarean on December 9.

After months of treatment, Mrs Keeley and Carys were transferred to the DGH on March 14 and discharged on March 17.

The ordeal has taken its toll on 32-year-old Mr Keeley, who has been signed off from work with stress.

Carys is gradually gaining weight - now weighing in at 4lb 5oz.

Mr Keeley said: "She has put on 3oz between Monday and Thursday so we hope that carries on."

The Trevor Mann Baby Unit has seven neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) cots, three high dependency cots and 11 special care cots.

A spokeswoman for the Brighton and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs the Royal Sussex, said the neonatal intensive care unit was under enormous pressure and was at full capacity most of the time.

She said: "The trust appreciates it is very stressful for families if a baby has to be cared for at a hospital a long way from home and it will always take babies from across Sussex wherever possible.

"However, in the case of baby Carys the trust could not give her a cot, not because of where the family live, but because there was not a NICU cot available and she was already receiving safe treatment."