Mantej Deol: "His mother described him as nothing short of a miracle"

Five-month-old Liam Stephen slept through the ceremony at the crowded Christ Church Centre in Worksop, Nottinghamshire.

He made history after his mother won a three-year legal battle to be use sperm collected from her husband Stephen as he lay dying from meningitis.

Mrs Blood, an advertising executive and committed Christian, applied for permission to use her late husband's frozen sperm in April 1995 but was blocked by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

The HFEA ruled that because there was no written consent from Mr Blood, she was not allowed to use the sperm.

But after several unsuccessful legal challenges, she finally won permission at the Court of Appeal to take the sperm to Brussels for treatment.

'Looks like his dad'

After the service, she said she was delighted to welcome "her little miracle" into the church on the day before her 33rd birthday.

"It's a very special day for a very special baby," she said.

Liam was dressed in an all-white suit with matching bootees and cap. Mrs Blood said he was already beginning to resemble her husband, both in looks and temperament.

"He looks like Stephen did in photographs when he was a baby. Stephen would have been very proud."

The Rev David Bartlett said: "It's a lovely time to celebrate the birth of Liam."