PARENTS in Worlingham and Mettingham are celebrating the best present of all - the births of Christmas Day babies.Little Joshua Payne timed his 4.24am Christmas Day arrival to perfection, giving mum and dad scope to go home for lunch and big brother Callum a chance to see what presents Father Christmas had brought.

PARENTS in Worlingham and Mettingham are celebrating the best present of all - the births of Christmas Day babies.

Little Joshua Payne timed his 4.24am Christmas Day arrival to perfection, giving mum and dad scope to go home for lunch and big brother Callum a chance to see what presents Father Christmas had brought.

Sporting a festive red and green Christmas tree hat, the newborn weighed in at 7lb 9.5oz and was already proving to be in fine voice as this year's first Christmas Day baby at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

By 3pm there had been six Christmas newborns - with staff reporting that Christmas Eve was in fact busier with 18 deliveries.

Joshua's mother Zoe Mullin, 28, said her son was due to be born on December 28 but decided to pop out early after she went into labour at around 1am.

“It was all fairly quick, we had a feeling this would be just our luck,” she said. “It was a very good labour. When I had Callum it was 13 hours and I was in tears.”

“Joshua is fine and absolutely lovely,” she added. “I just want to

go home and see Callum open

his presents and show this little one off.”

The family, who live in Worlingham, were planning to head off together to spend the day with gran and grandad and meet other relatives.

And as Joshua was the first Christmas baby at the hospital, they also received a special baby rocker donated by Maclaren - though it was a pink one.

Dad Joseph Payne, 22, said: “We've been saying all the way we hoped he wouldn't be born on Christmas Day. A lot of people tend to celebrate halfway through the year, but we might just celebrate along with Callum's birthday in February.”

At Gorleston, in what midwives described as a “low activity” shift in the central delivery suite at the James Paget University Hospital, only one couple had celebrated the birth of a Christmas Day baby by noon.

To the beaming delight of

parents Cristian and Monica Minuet, baby Valentina was delivered by midwife Alex Gray at 5.39am, weighing 7lb 2oz.

The Argentinian couple, who also have a two-year-old boy Cristian, live at Carlton House Farm equestrian centre in Mettingham, where Mr Minuet schools polo ponies.

He said: “Valentina was due on Christmas Eve but it is a nice surprise to have a baby born on Christmas Day.”