AN asylum seeker who tried to kill herself while facing deportation is celebrating her very own ‘Christmas miracle’.

May Brown, 20, took an overdose of pills and was rushed to Dorset County Hospital after being told she was booked on a flight back to Nigeria in April.

Yesterday she was back in the same hospital – this time celebrating the birth of her first child, Selina May Brown.

May and her husband Michael, 35, of Weymouth, describe Selina as their ‘miracle’ because May didn’t know she was in the early stages of pregnancy when she tried to kill herself.

The couple are also celebrating the recent news that May has been granted permanent residency to stay in the UK.

May spent Christmas in hospital with Selina born at 1am on Christmas Day weighing 9lbs and 1oz.

Law student May said: “She’s a Christmas miracle. Words cannot describe how I feel.

“I cannot believe I came close to taking my own life and I didn’t even know I was pregnant then.

“It’s like a fresh start for me now. I’m looking forward to not having to live in fear any more and to living freely and to bringing up my daughter in a happy, safe environment.”

Michael started a petition to persuade the government to allow May to stay in the UK.

He kept a vigil at her bedside after her overdose and vowed to continue to fight for his wife to stay in the UK.

Michael said: “We almost can’t believe how things have turned out.

“We’ve been waiting a long time to get to this stage and now we have a daughter to bring up together. I can’t believe we’ve got through this and have come out the other side.

“This puts everything into perspective.”

Former Weymouth College student May came to the UK aged 16 after claiming she saw her father murdered and being subjected to sexual abuse in her home country.

She met and married Michael, a former soldier from Weymouth, and the two planned a life together.

Her fear of being murdered by those who killed her father was so great that she decided to take her own life.

Speaking to the Echo days before her suicide bid, she described meeting Michael, 34, in Dusk nightclub on the Esplanade as like ‘meeting an angel who saved me.’ Michael said that officials allegedly told the couple they had ‘no emotional attachment’ and the marriage was a sham.

May said her pregnancy had no bearing on her case and the Border Agency made ‘a massive error’ in refusing her application to remain in the UK.

She said: “They looked back at the original case and found out they made a massive error.

“They accepted they made a mistake and gave me an offer that if I would withdraw my case from judicial review, they would give me a deal.”

May said she wants to move on and put her former struggles behind her. She said: “I’m looking forward to enjoying family life. I’ve had enough agony.

“What happened to me should never have happened to anybody.

“We’ve had so much support from people and I want to thank them all for getting us through.

“My husband has been through a lot and I want to thank him for being so strong.”