'My name is Aneira - I am the first baby born on the NHS'

Aneira was the seventh child born to her mother Edna Rees Credit: Aneira Thomas

Aneira Thomas was born at one minute past midnight on 5th July 1948 - the first baby born into the National Health Service in Great Britain.

Nurses at Glanamman hospital in west Wales were so keen to deliver the first NHS baby, they told her mother to 'slow down' in the late stages of labour.

The earliest surviving photo of Aneira Thomas, age 5 Credit: Family photo

Aneira's mother chose to name her child after the founder of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan.

Aneira recalls her mother talking about a time her grandfather broke his leg, and had to be held down on his kitchen table while a doctor operated without anaesthetic. In order to pay the doctor, they had to sell the family piano. Decades later, Aneira found certificates showing her mother had been an accomplished pianist.

Aneira was born to her mother Edna Rees on 5th July 1948 Credit: ITV News

Aneira went on to work as a mental health nurse in the NHS, and her daughter is now a paramedic.

As the country celebrates the 70th anniversary of the NHS, Aneira is spending her special birthday attending events across the country.