Image copyright Sharon Grant Image caption Pixie was swaddled in a Tesco sandwich bag by doctors to keep her warm

A baby born three months early was kept alive with the help of a supermarket sandwich bag.

Pixie Griffiths-Grant weighed just 1.1lb (0.5kg) when she was delivered by emergency Caesarean section in Plymouth, Devon.

Doctors tucked her into the bag emblazoned with the Tesco logo to stop her temperature dropping dangerously.

Mother Sharon Grant, 37, from Goonhavern in Cornwall said: "The bag acted like a greenhouse, bless her."

Image copyright Sharon Grant Image caption Sharon Grant was told her baby might not survive the birth

Ms Grant was taken to Derriford Hospital for the birth after Pixie stopped growing inside her.

"We were told this awful news, so it was a really stressful time. I did not know if she was going to survive.

"When I got to Derriford my blood pressure was really high so they put on Ben Howard to help bring it down.

"There were 10 doctors dealing with Pixie and they put her in a sandwich bag straight away to keep her warm."

Pixie, named because of her size at birth in May, is now 7.5lb (3.4kg).

"She's doing really well," said Ms Grant.

"It's amazing because we couldn't even imagine her being there."

Premature babies have very thin skin which can lead to life-threatening heat loss, according to a study in US journal Pediatrics.

The use of plastic bags was pioneered in Zambia where doctors wanted a cheap way to keep premature babies alive.