A baby born with her heart outside her body has survived after surgery at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.

Vanellope Hope Wilkins, who has no breastbone, was delivered three weeks ago by Caesarean section.

She has had three operations to place her heart back in her chest.

The condition, ectopia cordis, is extremely rare, with only a few cases per million births, of which most are stillborn.

The hospital says it knows of no other case in the UK where the baby has survived.

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Her parents, Naomi Findlay, 31, and Dean Wilkins, 43, from Nottingham, say Vanellope is “a real fighter”.

Naomi told me: “It was a real shock when the ultrasound showed that her heart was outside her chest and scary because we didn’t know what would happen.”

The couple paid for a blood test which showed there were no chromosomal abnormalities and that made them determined to continue with the pregnancy.

Dean told me: “We were advised to have a termination and that the chances of survival were next to none – no-one believed she was going to make it except us.”

Vanellope had been due on Christmas eve but was delivered by Caesarean section on 22 November in order to reduce the chances of infection and damage to the heart.

There were around 50 medical staff present including obstetricians, heart surgeons, anaesthetists, neonatologists and midwives.