Dressed in her school uniform, Megan Hope Butler looks like any other four-year-old starting school.

But for proud mum and dad Paula and Tony Butler, it is more than the usual milestone – for Megan survived against the odds when she was born 11 weeks early.

Megan began her reception year at Cowling Primary School, near Keighley, on Monday, following in the footsteps of big sister, Isabelle Faith, six, who was also dubbed a miracle baby after she arrived 13 weeks early, weighing less than two pounds.

Paula said both girls have progressed “brilliantly” since their precarious start .

Paula suffered the agony of two stillbirths before her two daughters were born prematurely, and she says doctors trusted her instincts and gave her a caesarean section at a very early stage in her next two pregnancies.

She said: “I am so grateful to the doctors. They listened to me and trusted my instincts and allowed the caesarean section to go ahead.

“They were amazing throughout and had the faith to step into the unknown and take my word for it. The consultant in charge of my case is a very special man.”