A tiny baby who was born weighing less than a bag of sugar has finally been allowed to go home.

When she came into the world Lily Gillen was 16 weeks premature and just 1lb 8oz.

Now she weighs in at a healthy 7lbs 6oz and is enjoying spending time with her parents Tracy and Paul and older sister Grace at home in Bexhill.

No one knows why Lily was so early. She was born at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings on October 30 at 6am and had to be rushed immediately into intensive care.

For weeks it was touch and go about whether she would survive.

She has stayed in four different hospitals and had around-the-clock care.

She is now being looked after by the Conquest's children's community home nursing team and her health visitor.

Proud dad Paul Gillen said: "It is a great relief to have her home at last because she was in hospital for about 18 weeks.

"It was very frightening when she was in intensive care. You don't actually know whether you're going to keep them or not, whether they're going to survive. It is very worrying because every day things can change.

"It is quite a unique experience. You have your baby but you don't bring your baby home."

Lily was originally cared for at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Hammersmith, where her parents were only able to visit her twice a week.

Mr Gillen said: "It was awful. It was a three-and-a-half hour journey even if you went out of rush hour. We'd leave at 9am and get there at 12.30pm, then leave at 7pm and get home at 10.30pm.

"She was there for about six weeks."

Lily was later transferred to Brighton, where her parents saw her every day, to Ashford, where they visited every other day, then to Hastings where they could see her twice a day.

Now she is in good health with no apparent difficulties, although she is much smaller than an average 19-week-old baby.

At home big sister Grace, aged 16 months, has proved very happy to help out.

Mr Gillen said. "She couldn't be nicer. She is very enthusiastic about her baby sister and very caring."

The civil engineer added that his family's story proved how vital it was to save threatened maternity services at Eastbourne and Hastings from closure.

He said: "We are very concerned about the closure of one of the wards. We feel that the closure of either would be detrimental to existing patients and future patients. The decision whether or not to close it has been hanging over the staff that work in them for months and months.

"Despite that pressure they continue to deliver very supportive and professional care. I just feel it would be a great loss.

"I feel concerned if somebody lived towards Rye and had to go to Eastbourne for maternity services, potentially patients could be lost.

"If we'd had to move that distance, there is a potential we could have lost Lily. The consultant said if we'd had her at home, we would have lost her."