Staff and customers of a craft shop in Bakewell have been busy with their knitting needles, creating tiny garments to fit babies who are sometimes no bigger than an adult hand.

It all started when Daphne Cox, who works at Wye Needlecraft in Bakewell, was asked to knit some miniature outfits for a friend's premature baby.

Dozens of garments have since been donated to the Neonatal Unit at the Jessop Wing maternity hospital in Sheffield and to the unit at Chesterfield Hospital.

Among the babies benefiting is little Harley Holmes from Longley, Sheffield, who was born 12 weeks early weighing in at just 2.8 pounds. It is hoped he will be well enough to go home in May - around the time he should have been born.

New mum Donna, aged 34, said: "It's a worrying time for any parent and these little gifts go a long way in giving us the support we need when we most need it."

The Jessop Wing welcomes around 800 babies from across the region who need specialist care each year.

Matron Caroline Nicholson said: "The garments will help the premature babies keep nice and warm."

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