Mother-to-be gave birth to twins 40 miles from home after being turned away by every hospital in county on Christmas Eve

Zoe Rowley, 34, says she felt just like Mary in the Nativity story as nurses phoned every hospital in the West Midlands and then beyond.

Mrs Rowley had been told she needed an emergency caesarean and the babies would be two months early. But no maternity ward in the region had a free pair of the incubators the tiny twins would need.

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Finally they were given a spot at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in Shropshire county - nearly an hour and a half's drive from their home in Sutton Coldfield.

Mrs Rowley was rushed there by ambulance just in time - she ended up going into labour naturally and giving birth to Finn at 3.57am on Christmas Day and Sam 24 minutes later.

She said last night: "We couldn't believe it - it was literally like there was no room at the inn. We would have liked to be closer to home, but the staff here have been so amazing we are glad we came."

She and her husband Mark, 37, a quantity surveyor, had visited the Good Hope hospital near their home for a scheduled appointment on Christmas Eve morning.

Doctors spotted a problem with the babies' growth and sent the couple to Heartlands hospital in nearby Birmingham for a scan. There, the shocked Rowleys were told the boys would need to be delivered within 48 hours. Nearly nine hours of tests and waiting followed, as five hospitals turned them down.

Mrs Rowley, a student welfare coordinator at City College Birmingham, was on the first day of her maternity leave.

She said last night: "We are still in shock. We needed intensive care, but the entire West Midlands was full.

"We were supposed to be going to my mum's for Christmas dinner, but this is the ultimate Christmas present. The twins are doing so well and I was really happy not to need the caesarean."

The Rowleys have been able to cuddle the tiny boys - Finn weighed in at 2lb 8oz and Sam at 2lb 15 oz - and are gearing up to give them "kangaroo care", by holding them against their own bare chests to help regulate their temperatures.

An NHS spokesman said: "We have a system for when specialist centres are required where staff will first search the West Midlands for suitable beds, and then search for the next nearest centre."