PROUD mother Amanda Eclerton heard the patter of not-so-tiny feet when her baby was born with only gas and air - weighing more than a stone.

Baby Shaune weighed in at a staggering 14lb 7oz - twice the average - and measured 2ft after a traumatic natural birth.

Mother-of-three Ms Eclerton, 24, of Willow Walk, Hartlepool, gave birth to Shaune Benjamin Nicholson on August 6, at 11.15pm after a six-hour labour.

She said: "I was told he was going to be big, but when they handed him to me he was huge. I knew he wasn't going to be normal because the birth was agony, but he was worth it."

Staff at the University Hospital of Hartlepool were amazed to see Shaune born naturally.

Head of midwifery Janet Mackie said: "We were all surprised by the size of the baby. While we can't confirm if he is the biggest, he must certainly be one of the biggest ever born in Hartlepool."

Ms Eclerton was taken to the hospital at 5pm on Monday because she was ten days overdue.

Hospital staff broke her waters and induced the birth, which became complicated because of the sheer size of the youngster.

Miss Eclerton, who lost three litres of blood during labour, said: "I knew it was going to be a big baby but everyone was surprised when they saw his big head pop out."

Her partner, Robert Nicholson, 28, said: "This is the last. I couldn't put Amanda or myself through that again. We have three beautiful children and that's enough for us."

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the record living new born was a boy weighing 22lb 8oz at Aversa, Italy, in 1955.