A MOTHER has told how she went in to labour seven weeks early while she was on holiday at Craig Tara.

Paula Morrison had travelled more than 240 miles to Ayr from the family home in Buckie in Banffshire when her waters broke on August 2 - their first day at the resort.

Paula and partner John Pitt, both 39, were with their three children Charlie, 22, Taylor, 13 and three-year-old Lola-Rose on the beach when her waters broke.

She told the Advertiser: “We had just come down for the weekend. I had seven weeks until my due date so I thought it would be fine, but we just arrived and took the kids to the beach and my foot just touched the sand and my waters broke.

“I couldn’t believe it. I just sat there for a wee while thinking it couldn’t be true, but then I told John and after a wee while we went to the hospital. I didn’t want to rush to the hospital and ruin the kids’ day at the beach and I had no other symptoms.”

Paula went to Crosshouse Hospital’s Ayrshire Maternity Unit and was kept in for three days until eventually baby daughter Adora was born Monday, August 5 at 32 weeks weighing just 3lbs 7oz.

Paula said: “She was so small. Her due date was September 25 and she arrived seven weeks early. She went in to the Intensive Care Unit as soon as she was born because she needed oxygen then eventually they moved her to the High Dependency Unit then on to Special Care to feed her up.”

Despite a dramatic start to life, Paula says baby Adora is now thriving, 12 weeks on.

She said: “She’s three months now and she’s fantastic. Her weight is up to 8lbs 5oz.”

Paula paid tribute to the fantastic care she received at the AMU and called the staff the ‘Ayrshire and Arran Angels’.

She said: “The care at AMU is honestly second to none. All my kids have been born in different hospitals and Ayrshire was by far the best care. I actually didn’t want to leave. The staff right across the ward are fantastic, from the cooks, to the cleaners to the nurses and midwives; everyone of them cannot do enough for you. Even after I had Adora they were superb. I was hundreds of miles from home and feeling a bit down with that and the baby blues and they made sure they were there for a wee chat. Nothing was too much trouble.”