BATTLING Joseph Bradbury is a little miracle.

He’s defied the odds after being born four months premature weighing 1lb 6oz.

His overjoyed parents Sarah and Scott Bradbury from Portland have tried desperately to have a child over the last 10 years with Sarah suffering eight miscarriages before Joseph.

Joseph has lived on the edge of life since he arrived early at 23 weeks and five days with doctors giving him a 10 per cent chance of survival.

He spent his first few weeks on a life support machine at Queen Alexandra Hospital at Portsmouth where he was born and underwent a lifesaving heart operation at Southampton General Hospital in the unit now threatened with closure.

Knowing that each moment was precious, Sarah and Scott travelled to Portsmouth from their Tobys Close home virtually every day for 13 weeks to be at his side.

Sarah and Scott say their faith in God has kept them strong. Joseph is named after St Joseph’s Church in Weymouth which the couple attend and where they will be officially welcomed into the Catholic faith this Easter.

They looked to the church after Sarah had a dream when she lost the child before Joseph, a boy called Ben who lived for only a few minutes.

Sarah, 30, said: “We’ve been through so much.

“It all comes back to faith. I think there’s a reason why Joseph was born this way and why he is who he is.”

She added: “Joseph fought against the odds and won.

“We’re so delighted he’s in the world. He’s a complete miracle.”

Scott, 36, who works as a customer advisor at a bank, said: “We’ve been waiting for so long to have a baby.

“We never gave up trying. Even though Joseph was early and all the stress we went through we’re so glad he‘s here with us now.”

Former nursing assistant Sarah, from Wyke Regis, got together with Scott, from Poole, through the Echo’s dating service 11 years ago and they married a year later.

The couple always intended to have children but encountered problems due to Sarah’s medical condition which causes her cervix to weaken.

When Sarah fell pregnant last year with Joseph she underwent an operation to treat it.

Joseph was due in December last year but came after an eight hour labour on August 28, 2010.

He was so tiny and weak that he was immediately put on life support while Sarah had to have an operation after losing huge amounts of blood.

Sarah, who had to go to Portsmouth to have Joseph because there were no beds available at Southampton, said: “We had lost so many babies, we were just glad that Joseph was alive.”

At six weeks, Joseph underwent surgery at Southampton to fix a valve in his heart.

Due to Joseph’s respiratory problems he was given treatment to keep his lungs inflated and help them develop after he was transferred to DCH.

He was finally allowed home seven months after he was born.

Scott said: “Joseph is remarkably relaxed considering what he’s been through.”