Couple stranded in Spain as desperately ill baby arrives 13 weeks early

A British mother who gave birth to her baby 13 weeks prematurely while on holiday in Spain is facing months of living in a homeless shelter as she failed to take out travel insurance.

Zowie Lyons, 25, and her partner Sam Hilton, 20, had planned a few days of winter sun before the arrival of their new baby but within hours of arriving in Alicante Zowie went into labour.

The Daily Mail reports that baby Ellizeah was born the following day, weighing a tiny 2lb.

She has had a life-saving operation on her intestines, suffered heart and lung problems and had a suspected bleed on her brain.

Ellizeah is now seven weeks old and needs specialised 24-hour medical care.

The couple need to raise £12,000 to bring her home safely from Alicante.

Zowie told Radio Aire that she is struggling with the language barrier in Spain. She said: "It's really really hard just to ask the doctor, how's my baby doing, is she ok. There are English interpreters here but we've only got them for a couple of hours a day."

Carol Lyons, Zowie's mum, said: "She's not eating properly because she wants to save any money she's got. She needs to because she's breastfeeding the baby. She's got an infection from the caesarean."

A specialist team will be provided free on the NHS by Embrace Yorkshire & Humber Infant & Children's Transport Team, part of Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, but the couple need to raise cash to fly them to Alicante so they can bring Ellizeah home.

Zowie's mum and sister Cara Whittaker have started a Facebook group to raise awareness and Radio Aire has set up a JustGiving page to collect donations.

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