A new mother has had her first baby at the age of 50 after using her PPI compensation to pay for IVF.

Alison John was finally able to afford fertility treatment after she won £2,000 from the bank that mis-sold her insurance.

Mrs John and her husband Phillip - who have just celebrated their silver 25th wedding anniversary - are thrilled to have had healthy baby Megan.

But after trying for 16 years she admits many people struggle to believe it is their child, who weighed 5lb 8oz at birth and is now five months old.

Good news: Alison and Phillip John have had their first child Megan (pictured together) - 25 years after marrying - by using £2,000 in PPI compensation to pay for IVF

She said: 'We've had some people assume she's our granddaughter and when we tell them the truth they look stunned.

'She was so tiny we thought she would snap, but she's a happy healthy baby.

'Everywhere we go the baby comes with us. We're so happy.'

Alison, of Ammanford, South Wales, came off the pill at the age of 34 in the hope of the couple having their first baby.

She said: 'We talked about a having family when and if it happened - but it never did, and by the time I was 40 we became curious as to why not.

'Tests came back fine, so we looked into IVF.'

The cost of private treatment stopped the couple until Alison had an unexpected PPI payout.

Civil servant husband Phillip, 58, said: 'We had a choice - spend it on a couple of fantastic holidays or take a chance on IVF. We went for the IVF.'

She started IVF treatment - and became pregnant on her third round of treatment but tragically lost the baby at eight weeks.

Much wanted: Megan, who weighed 5lb 8oz when she was born in June, after her parents were trying for 16 years

Alison said she made the mistake of telling everyone she was pregnant on her third IVF treatment.

She said: 'By week eight I had lost the baby. So when I was having Megan I didn't tell a soul until the 20-week scan.

'I worked a 50-hour week right up until 10 days before the birth.'

Megan arrived by Caesarean section at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, South Wales, on June 29 - three weeks before her 51st birthday.

'I went right through hoping for a pool birth, but they told me there was no chance at my age,' said Alison.

'In the end she was breech, so it was out of my hands.'

Because the couple have the chance of another IVF cycle, they haven't ruled out giving Megan a brother or sister in the near future.

Both Alison and Phil are long-time volunteers with Guide Dogs and have been raising money for the charity since the 1980s.

Alison said adorable Megan has been turning heads at Guide Dogs events ever since.

Phillip, who works for the DVLA in Swansea, said: 'We took Megan to a Guide Dogs collection at M&S the other week.

'Children headed straight for the dogs, but their mothers seemed more interested in the baby. We've started to call it the Megan effect.'

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists say the 'optimal age' for childbearing is between 20 and 35 years old.

But according to the Office of National Statistics, more women are embarking on motherhood later in life with pregnancies over the age of 40 on the rise.

There is a higher risk of a baby suffering complications, such as Down's syndrome, when the mum is older.