A boy for the gran who was not really expecting

At 45, with her two children now in their 20s, she assumed the menopause had arrived.

It was only when a niggling back pain she had been feeling for a few weeks suddenly got much worse during a lunch break at work that the reality started to dawn.

Just five hours later she had given birth to a healthy 8lb 1oz son, Alfie.

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The news was even more of a shock for her husband Kevin. The couple celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary this year.

"I nearly fell to the floor when I found out," said the 48-year- old welder. "It was even more of a shock when the hospital midwives told us at first that it was twins."

Mrs Davidson, of Caister, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, had refused to worry about the symptoms she had been feeling - the flushes, the back pain, a bloated sensation and some mild weight gain - and continued her job as a nursery worker at a centre for autistic children.

A check on the Internet had seemed to confirm her suspicion that it was the menopause and she did not even think it necessary to seek a doctor's advice.

But when the pain increased at work last week, there was a sudden awakening.

She said: "It was at lunchtime and I told my, manager, 'I think I have got something to tell you. I think I could be pregnant and I could be in labour now'.

"We went straight to the hospital and Alfie was born at 6.25pm. They think that I was 40 weeks and that he was lying across me with his head down."

Mrs Davidson, a Brownie and Girl Guide leader, added: "I hadn't seemed to put on much weight over the nine months.

"But it turned out I was carrying a lot of water and lost a stone and a half immediately after the birth.

"Alfie was a placid baby both inside and out of the womb. When he was inside I felt ripple-like sensations but nothing like a kick to give it away.

"But I recognised the signs of labour when the backache turned into much more than that - that's when I knew I was expecting."

Mrs Davidson, has two grown-up children, Victoria, 25 and Phillip, 26, as well as a seven-year-old grandson, Owen.

It is also her second surprise birth. Seven years ago she had a daughter, Harriet, but she died from diabetes aged two.

Mr and Mrs Davidson are now coming to terms with their unplanned return to parenthood.

"I am totally delighted," she said. "He's really, really placid - really, good."