FATHER-TO-BE Graham Clark underwent a life-or-death brain operation not knowing if he would ever see his unborn child.

But he woke from surgery to find he had a new life and new baby boy.

Mr Clark, of Chester-le-Street, County Durham, hugged his pregnant wife, Esther, 28, as he was wheeled into theatre to have a brain tumour removed on May 8 - uncertain what the future held.

He was woken the next morning with a phone call from his wife to tell him he was a father.

Mr Clark, 40, said: "It was the most incredible feeling in the world. I went to theatre in desperate hope that I would come through.

"To wake up from that operation knowing I was alive was amazing and then to find out I was also a dad was just unbelievable. I'm the happiest man in the world."

Little Ewan Thomas Clark arrived early on Friday, May 9, at the University Hospital of North Durham, weighing a healthy 7lb 9oz, while his father lay recovering in Newcastle General, 25 miles away.

The couple found out they were expecting a baby last August. And when Mr Clark was taken into theatre on Thursday they did not expect the baby to arrive for two weeks.

Mrs Clark, a council administration assistant, said: "I kissed Graham goodbye before the operation and waited until he returned from theatre.

"I was so relieved after doctors said everything was successful. When I left hospital Graham was still unconscious. I think the stress may have brought on the labour."

Mr Clark said: "I woke the next morning feeling a little bit groggy - but relieved and delighted that everything was okay. The nurses unplugged everything and wheeled me to the phone.

"Esther said: 'I've got something to tell you'. I didn't know what to think. She said: 'You're a dad'.

"They were the most amazing words."