A MUM of premature twins has spoken of the hope and heartbreak she experienced in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Amanda Buck's twins, Harriet and Ted were born at just 26 weeks on November 30, 2016. Their due date was in March. They weighed in at just 850g (1.8lb).

Their underdeveloped state meant they could die from the slightest infection.

They spent the first three months of their lives in Royal Bolton Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Miss Buck, aged 33 and partner Sean Langin, aged 37, were frightened to touch their own children when they were born for fear of hurting them.

Miss Buck said: "They were so small. They had no eyebrows, no nipples, their bums weren't formed and they were bright red. They call them chickens, they were like new born birds.

"We were so intimidated by their size and how vulnerable they looked."

Harriet struggled more than Ted after their births and got necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) which developed into sepsis. As Ted moved out of the danger zone, he was moved to a high dependency unit while Harriet remained in the NICU.

Miss Buck said: "On New Year's morning Harriet was on a different machine, a step up from life support and the nurses were bright red and sweating.

"They didn't tell me how poorly she was. I could tell for the whole of the night shift they had been on their feet to save her life.

"If it had been a bad night they would say she was 'naughty'.

"They sacrificed their Christmas and New Year to keep Harriet alive and I will be eternally grateful."

Miss Buck and Mr Langin cannot thank the NICU staff enough for their support and have been raising money for the unit since.

After the twins were discharged home the couple secured some flights to New York and raffled them off raising £5,000 for the unit, "but it's not enough" said Miss Buck.

As well as saving the lives of Harriet and Ted Miss Buck said the NICU staff paid attention to the little things which made their lives much easier and provided emotional comfort to the family.

From the very beginning Harriet and Ted's parents were included in their care even when they couldn't hold them. They were given diaries to show their progress with hand and footprints from each of the twins. Miss Buck said she realised this would be a kind of memento if the worst happened.

At Christmas little stockings were put at the end of the incubators which Miss Buck said meant a lot to her and meant the twins were not missing Christmas.

Even having comfortable armchairs next to her children was a small touch which helped.

Both Harriet and Ted are at home now and doing well. Miss Buck expects them to be discharged by their consultant in March, though she says they will not be fully caught up until the age of four.

Saturday was World Prematurity Day, pioneered by Bliss, a prematurity charity.

To celebrate the day Bolton's NICU held a teaparty for parents and children who are in the unit or have been helped by it in the past.

A short walk with glow sticks was taken round the garden symbolising that 'little lights shine bright', one of hundreds of similar walks taking place around the country for the day.