An Oxfordshire county councillor has described the Christmas Day birth of his daughter as "the best Christmas present ever".

Neil Fawcett, 33, who represents Abingdon South, and is the council's executive member for learning and culture, said he was caught by surprise when his wife Samantha, 31, went into labour on Christmas Eve - two-and-a-half weeks early.

She gave birth to Emma, who weighed 7lbs 6oz, in Wallingford Community Hospital at 2.46am on Christmas Day - making her one of the first babies born in the county on Christmas Day.

Mr Fawcett, from Turberville Close, Abingdon, said: "We weren't geared up for it and it came as a bit of a shock. It threw everything upside down, and we had an interesting Christmas Day, but it was the best Christmas present ever."

The couple celebrated the new arrival with their two other children, by having Christmas lunch at Wallingford Community Hospital.