A new mother breast-fed someone else's baby after she was handed the wrong child in a maternity ward mix-up.

Nathalie Brooks, from Eastbourne, only realised the infant was not hers after nursing her for 20 minutes.

Eastbourne District General Hospital today apologised for the blunder which happened when an agency nurse on night duty misread the name tag around the baby's foot.

Ms Brooks gave birth to 7lb 9oz daughter Meadow after a 40-hour labour at 10pm on Tuesday.

Still in a daze from the lengthy birth she was handed a child to feed after it woke up crying in the early hours of the next morning.

Ms Brooks, 34, said she was horrified at having shared such an intimate experience with a stranger's baby.

She said: "The nurse was African and her English was not very good.

"She told me my baby was crying and needed a feed. I was very sleepy and the room was in darkness.

"The baby was in my arms and started feeding right away."

Ms Brooks said alarm bells began ringing when she noticed the baby's head had not been washed, its arms were chubbier and it was wearing the wrong clothes.

She had dressed her daughter in a plain white vest but the child in her arms was wearing a white vest with a yellow motif.

She checked the baby's name tag, discovered it was not hers and called staff.

Nurses took the other baby away and led her to the nursery, where Meadow was sleeping peacefully.

Ms Brooks said today she was shocked by the experience but said there were no plans to take further action against the hospital, which has issued a full apology.

Her partner Neill Carden, 40, told our reporter: "Nathalie and Meadow are all right. They are just a bit tired."

A spokesman for Eastbourne District General Hospital said: "This was a regrettable incident and we are sorry for the distress it has caused.

"We have met with both sets of parents and offered our sincere apologies.

"Following this incident our staff on the maternity unit have been reminded of the need to check fully the baby's name together with that of the parent."