SAMANTHA and Matthew Bayley have had the best early Christmas ever after their three-year-old daughter Emily pulled through a major open heart operation this week.

The Corsham toddler went into theatre at Bristol Children's Hospital at 8.15am on Monday, and didn't come out until nine hours later.

Emily had a hole in her heart and the operation was her 21st in three years and was an attempt to give her a chance of some quality of life.

Oxygen was not getting into her blood because one of her pulmonary arteries had narrowed and she was often going blue and becoming breathless.

Doctors had previously avoided it because they didn't know if she was strong enough to survive the surgery.

She is now in intensive care on nine different drugs, but the initial signs show that the operation to close up the hole in her heart has been a success.

Mr Bayley said: "She's fine and the operation went really well. The next few days will obviously be crucial."

He said it had been a distressing wait for him and his wife and they were delighted and relieved to finally see their little girl.

As well as sealing up the hole in Emily's heart, doctors also surgically widened her left pulmonary artery.

Mr Bayley said Emily was still heavily sedated and on immobilising drugs to stop her moving too much, but said he knew she was aware that he and his wife were there.

Emily will remain at the hospital for at least the next two weeks and Mrs Bayley will be staying with her.