North News
It's well known that twins have a special connection, but Dylan and Hannah Fox are unique for a different reason: they were born less than two hours apart..in DIFFERENT countries.
While Dylan is English, his sister is a Scot. Dylan was born in the front room of his grandparents' home in Wooler, Northumberland – while Hannah showed up at a hospital north of the Border one hour and 40 minutes later!
Mum Donna Keenan, 28, started having contractions while she and boyfriend, Joe Fox, 24, were watching the final of Euro 2012, not long after she had returned from hospital after a routine check.
"I'd only been home for about an hour and a half and my waters broke," she said.
"My contractions started coming rather quickly. Dylan was born almost two hours earlier than sister Hannah.
"We had to ring a paramedic because we weren't going to make it to the hospital."
The paramedic asked her to lie on the living room floor because the first of the two babies was about to be born.
"It was quite scary because we didn't know what was going to happen," said Donna.
"The next thing I was on the floor and he was born at 10 o'clock."
Paramedics decided they had enough time to take Donna to the nearest hospital in Melrose for her to give birth to the second baby.
She said: "It felt like the longest journey ever. The hospital is about an hour away and they kept saying to me 'don't push!'"
Meanwhile, Joe and his mum had to keep newborn baby Dylan warm as they travelled in a second ambulance to the same hospital.
He said he had had a premonition that Joe might give birth earlier in the day.
He said: "It was my own fault, I joked that morning that Donna wasn't allowed to go into labour while the final was on."
Dylan, who weighed 5lb 13oz, and Hannah, at 4lb 14.5oz, and their mother are in the special care baby unit of the Borders hospital. It is hoped they will be transferred closer to Northumberland, to Berwick Infirmary, before being allowed home.