A couple who struggled to have a baby for 12 years have finally welcomed a little boy - after their pals rallied around to raise £8k for IVF.

Zoe Nickless, 37, and husband, Ben, 42, decided to try and start a family shortly after getting married in April 2011.

After trying for two years, they began having medical investigations and eventually turned to a fertility clinic for help.

In 2015 they had intrauterine insemination - where the sperm is injected directly into the womb.

After that failed, the couple moved onto IVF - where the eggs are removed from the body and fertilised in the lab.

Their first round was funded by the NHS and their second, costing £7k, paid for privately - but both sadly failed.

They underwent a third round in October and, to their delight, Zoe fell pregnant with their little boy, Billy.

But at 25 weeks, in March 2021, Billy was born stillborn, leaving the parents heartbroken - and one final self-funded IVF attempt failed too.

Worried they wouldn't be able to afford another shot, the pair's friends and family encouraged them to set up a GoFundMe page - which raised £1,000 in just one day.

In four weeks the pair raised the £8,000 needed to pay for another final three rounds of IVF - thanks to the kindness of 160 friends, family and strangers.

After travelling to Cyprus for the treatment, in October 2022 their seventh round saw them conceive another little boy.

Their son, Teddy, now five weeks, was born on June 15 2023, three weeks ahead of his due date, at Leighton Hospital, Crewe.

Proud mum Zoe credits the 160 kind people who rallied around to make it possible.

Zoe, a theatre venue assistant, from Chester, Cheshire, said: "After the first couple of rounds of IVF, we were going to give up.

"But lockdown reminded us we still did really want children in our life, so we kept trying.

"After losing Billy, I had an evening where I just sat crying and crying.

“But that’s when a friend said to me, you really should consider starting a GoFundMe page because there’s a lot of people who want this for you.

"Amazingly, it only took four weeks to raise the money - and it was amazing to walk out with a baby from the same hospital that we previously left empty handed.

"If it wasn’t for the GoFundMe and the generosity and good hearts of everyone, we wouldn’t have Teddy.

"So he's not just our baby, but everyone’s - and we are forever grateful."

Zoe and Ben had already tried a round of artificial insemination and three rounds of IVF when a friend suggested they set up a fundraiser.

This included having their stillborn son Billy in March 2021, which left the couple heartbroken.

But at £7k per round of IVF, they knew they couldn't afford to keep trying without help.

When a friend suggested the couple set up a fundraising page, Zoe and Ben decided "it wouldn't hurt" to give it a go.

Her friend, Helen Kenny, 35, shared the page on social media and they raised £1,000 in a day alone.