BIRTHDAY girl Ellie Cunningham's early entrance to the world 21 years ago today was a real cross-country celebration.

But for her family, it marked the start of seven-year battle to recognise her very existence.

For Ellie was born over Greece in 1982 on board an Indonesian airliner flying from Australia at 37,000ft.

Her mother, Jane Robson, is Scottish and her father, Fintan Cunningham, is Irish.

The couple were not married, Ellie was two months premature, and the jumbo jet was into the final leg of its 30-hour flight from Sydney to London after stopping at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

And so a bureaucratic battle began as authorities in six countries said they were unable to register her birth as the plane was in international airspace.

Even now, aged 21, Ellie does not technically exist. She does not have a birth certificate -- only a report written by the captain to prove that she was actually born.

Mrs Robson, aged 45, of Kildare Street, Farnworth, said: "Joking aside, it was a real problem.

"We felt like banging our heads against brick walls. It ended up very political.

"Ellie could have been Indonesian as that was the plane's nationality, but she would have had to live there for five years and learn the culture.

"She also could have been Greek, Irish, Scottish, British or Saudi Arabian, because that was the last port of call."

The problems began when the family wanted to go on holiday when Ellie was aged three.

She could not be Irish because Jane and Fintan were not married and, under British law, people have to be born on British soil to be classed as being British.

Mrs Robson said that both Indonesia and Saudi Arabia failed to recognise Ellie's birth because she was not native to their countries.

She said: "The only documentation to prove that she exists is the flight log. We really were up against a lot of red tape."

Finally, after the intervention of Bolton MPs and widespread media coverage, Ellie was finally registered as a British citizen at the age of seven. She was given a British passport and citizenship papers -- but still no birth certificate.

Mrs Robson said: "Officially, she is classed as being Greek with British citizenship. She is a wonderful daughter and we would all like to wish her happy birthday.

"She was too young to realise what was happening, although I do still wonder what would happen if she was to get married.

"We are planning a celebration for tonight, although a birthday holiday was always going to be out of the question!"

Ellie, who works for a bank in Salford and is studying to gain a part-time degree in business studies at Bury's Holy Cross College, holds the world record for being born at the highest altitude.

She has been on a break in London but is due home tonight to celebrate with her parents and her brother Jamie, aged 19, and sister Fiona, aged 16.

Ellie with her mother Jane.