A mother and daughter have given birth on the same day at a Sussex hospital.

Bernadette Smith and her daughter Amanda Beveridge are thrilled and staff at the Royal Sussex County in Brighton say it is the first such coincidence they can remember.

The two baby boys were born within 12-and-a-half hours of each other and the happy mothers, in adjoining beds on the maternity ward, have been told: "Mind you don't get the babies muddled up - they look so similar".

The coincidence is all the more incredible because Amanda's son James was due on December 11 but Bernadette's baby Billy-Jo was 17 days early.

But same-day birthdays are not a new experience for the family. Both Amanda, 20, and her younger sister, Susan, were born on April 13.

Bernadette, 39, of Saunders Park View, Brighton, said: "We had joked about giving birth on the same day as we both found out we were pregnant within two weeks of each other, but we never thought there was a chance of it happening. We are amazed it did.

"We should have put a bet on, given that Amanda and her sister were born on the same day."

The celebrations began at 3.10am on Tuesday, when Amanda gave birth to James Michael, who weighed in at 71b 11oz.

Then at 3.43pm the family greeted Bernadette's baby Billie-Jo, who weighed 7lb 5oz.

Bernadette said: "I think the shock of seeing Amanda taken to the theatre must have started me off. Immediately she had given birth, it was as if my body was saying, 'Now it's your turn'. I just knew the baby would come in the next few hours."