Little survivor Jayden Challis blew out the candles of his first birthday cake yesterday to celebrate a day his parents feared they would never see.

Jayden was born four months premature, weighing only 1lb 3oz, and was given only a 40 per cent chance of survival.

For parents Katie Beswick, 20, and Rob Challis, 23, the celebrations were tarred with the memory of Jayden's twin sister Karleigh, who died in hospital and never saw her first birthday.

They were too distraught to hold birthday celebrations on the actual day, on Saturday, and decorated Karleigh's grave with balloons and banners.

But yesterday, friends and family helped make a four foot long cake and marked the end of a difficult first year at the parents' home in Axtell Close, Kidlington.

Mr Challis said: "He has got absolutely loads of toys. It looks like Toys R Us here.

"Saturday was a mixed-up day. It wasn't like we got up in the morning and cracked on with the celebrations. We went down to the grave and put first birthday balloons up.

"It was indescribable. It was a bit difficult to get into the party mood."

Yet even Jayden's first birthday was not without its crisis, as the little lad was taken to hospital for an urgent eye test, but arrived back in time to see the cake.

He now weighs 18lb 6oz and his parents said he was developing like a regular baby.

Mr Challis said: "He's fantastic. If he didn't have the feeding tube and oxygen, you would think he's a normal baby boy."

Miss Beswick said: "We could have lost both of them. We could have been sat down at the grave today looking at them both.

"I wouldn't say it was a miracle, but he has survived so much and gone through so much to reach his first birthday."

Less than a month after the children were born, doctors told the parents there was nothing they could do to keep Karleigh alive, and they gave permission for the life support machine to be turned off.

Surgeons operated on Jayden to open and close his underdeveloped heart valves and performed laser eye surgery.

It took 65 days after the birth until the couple could hug their son and nine months before they could take him home.

Miss Beswick said: "I'm hoping these days get easier, but I can't avoid the fact it should be a double birthday and we should be pushing a double pram along.

"But we have got him at home and that's all that matters. He is the happiest little baby boy ever."