Doctors gave one of the smallest babies ever born a mere five per cent chance of survival.

But tiny Rohan Lowe beat all the odds and this week celebrated his tenth birthday.

Rohan, who lives with his parents in Rutland Gardens, Hove, weighed just 570 grams, little more than a pound, when he was born 17 weeks early on December 4, 1991.

He was even tinier than the world's most premature baby, James Gill, who weighed 624 grams when he was born 18 weeks early in Canada in 1987.

Rohan's father, Kevin Lowe, admitted he was shocked when he saw his first son, who was smaller than his hand.

Mr Lowe, 44, recalled he had a premonition he should go home to his pregnant wife, Shiromi Cabraal.

When he arrived at their home in Tooting, London, he found a note from his wife saying she had gone to St George's Hospital.

He ran there to discover she had gone into labour. He stayed in the delivery room and watched the birth of their first child.

Mr Lowe said: "I had never seen any child which ever looked as small as Rohan. I was very shocked. Babies like Rohan don't look the same as normal babies because they haven't completely developed.

"They put him straight into an incubator and put a little hat on him and took him to the special care baby unit."

The couple visited their son shortly afterwards to find him covered in monitor wires and receiving a constant supply of oxygen as his life hung in the balance.

Mr Lowe, who works for Brighton-based charity The Trust for the Study of Adolescents, said the staff were honest and gave Rohan a one in 20 chance of survival because he was so small.

Mr Lowe said: "It was a very strange time. The hospital staff were fantastic but realistic and they prepared us for the fact that he might not survive.

"Sometimes we would talk about how we would have a funeral and five minutes later we would be thinking what he might be like when he was an adult."

The couple took photographs of their son and recorded their first cuddle with Rohan when he was 28 days old.

By then his weight had increased to 800 grams. But his battle for life had only just begun and he needed a heart operation to improve the supply of oxygen to his body.

Two more operations were needed to save his sight when he was two months old.

After six months in hospital the couple were allowed to take him home.

The Lowes kept their son indoors until they felt confident enough to take their first family outing, to Brighton.

The family moved to the city 18 months ago.

Mr Lowe said: "Brighton was our spiritual home as it's where we were married."

Rohan's weight increased and he flourished once he recovered from his operations.

Now no one would suspect he was one of the world's smallest babies to survive.

The only reminder of his early health battle is that Rohan is extremely short-sighted and so attends Patcham House School, where he receives specialist teaching because of his visual impairment.

Just like any other boy, he is boisterous, loves football and cannot sit still. He loves singing and music and Harry Potter.

Mr Lowe said: "It doesn't seem like ten years ago, more like two years ago.

"There's something very special about him. Anyone who meets him says that when he talks to them he makes them feel like the most important person in the world."

The family believe Rohan survived through the expertise of the staff at St George's and his own inner strength.

Rohan had his tenth birthday party with friends at the weekend and a special family gathering.

Mr Lowe said: "I said a few words and it was hard to keep from choking back the emotion."

Rohan, who now has a four-year-old brother, Naresh, will join other premature children at a celebration at St George's on Sunday.