When the life of a premature baby was hanging in the balance, doctors brought in his twin brother to spend whatever time was left with him.

What happened next was "amazing" says mum Hannah Zimunya, from Wrexham, who has shared their story ahead of celebrating their first birthdays next week.

Mrs Zimunya gave birth to her two sons Dylan and Deiniol on October 3, 2018, at the Maelor Hospital after only 25 weeks of pregnancy

The two were eventually separated 58 miles apart as Dylan was being treated at the Maelor, while Deiniol was receiving 100 per cent oxygen support at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

When it became unknown whether or not Deiniol would survive, Dylan was sent to be with him in the Lancashire hospital, where, miraculously, Deiniol fought through.

Mrs Zimunya, 26, said: “It was horrible, the scariest time of my entire life.

“You don’t expect both of your babies to be taken away from you almost as soon as you’ve given birth to them, even worse that they were transferred to a completely different hospital nearly 60 miles away.

“I gave birth to my twin babies on October 3, and almost immediately both of them were transferred to the Royal Bolton Hospital as the Maelor is not allowed to keep babies born that prematurely.

“Dylan was eventually sent back to Wrexham in December, but Deiniol was not well enough to return with him as his lungs had remained too underdeveloped to breathe on their own.”

Mrs Zimunya was told by doctors that there was nothing more they could do for Deiniol as he was on 100 per cent oxygen, the highest level of support they could give.

As a result, Wrexham Maelor and Royal Bolton Hospital organised for Dylan to be transferred back to Bolton for the day so he could spend whatever time was left with his twin brother.

Remarkably, after Dylan arrived Deiniol’s condition stabilised, dropping his oxygen support level to 50 per cent.

Mrs Zimunya added: “It was incredible, somehow Dylan, by just being there, managed to help Deiniol, he made him better.

“They were put together in the same incubator for a few minutes, at least until Dylan got his hand under the tube that was giving Deiniol oxygen - I’ve never seen a nurse move so fast to stop him."

She added: "Deiniol’s support went down to 50 per cent oxygen over the course of the one day that Dylan had spent with him in Bolton, but when Dylan left the next day, Deiniol’s condition worsened again and his support had to be raised back to 100 per cent.

“Royal Bolton Hospital actually rang The Maelor and asked if they could have Dylan back because of what had happened, and when he was sent back, Deiniol’s condition improved so much that he was taken off the oxygen within 48 hours.

“It’s truly amazing.”

Deiniol managed to survive and will celebrate turning one-year-old on Thursday, October 3, along with his twin Dylan.

Mrs Zimunya says she still gets emotional thinking about what happened, as she wasn’t sure whether they would both be celebrating their birthday together.

She said: “It was the worst time. They’re my twins, they shouldn’t ever have to be separated.

“My husband and I think back, and we wonder how we managed to get through it, I still tear up just thinking about it and talking about it.

“Deiniol is still receiving oxygen at home but he is a lot better and is strong enough to be out of the hospital now.

“I can’t explain how happy I am that they will be celebrating their first birthdays next week, because there was a time where we didn’t know if both of them would get the chance to.”