Dad finally kisses his baby after doctors warned his saliva was toxic

A cancer-stricken father-of-two who was told chemotherapy made his saliva toxic, was warned by doctors not to have sex with his pregnant wife, as such physical intimacy could harm their unborn child.

Diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer - one of 2,500 people under 50 to discover they have the disease every year in the UK - wine shop manager Craig Fountain, 32, who says he now values "human intimacy" far more, could not even kiss baby Lottie when she was born in January, because of the risk of poisoning her.

He told The Metro: "Having cancer and going through chemo is tough, but by far the hardest part was not being able to be intimate with my wife.

"It felt as though all of a sudden there was a barrier placed between Elisabeth and me, like we were having a relationship from afar, and that can have quite a negative impact on a relationship.

"Even silly things like giving her a kiss before going off to work or going to sleep at night was something I started to really miss like mad."

After his treatment ended three weeks after Lottie was born, Craig was finally able to give his wife and children the kisses he had been denied for so long.

"Kissing is such an important part of bonding with a newborn baby and I wanted so badly just to give Lottie a big kiss," he added. "The first time I was able to kiss her was such a wonderful and poignant moment for me and just goes to show that some things are worth waiting for."