THOUSANDS of parents waved goodbye to their little ones this week as they rushed through the gates for their first day at school. But for Jane Allman it was an extra special day as she waved goodbye to daughter Hope - her miracle baby.

It was a day Jane thought she would never see. For eight years, she and husband David tried unsuccessfully for a child.

The battle was made all the more painful for Jane who, every day, tended youngsters at the Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Unit, then based at All Saints' Hospital in Chatham.

But in 1995, after the Kent Messenger Group publicised her appeal for egg donors, Jane fell pregnant. Life has been filled with landmarks ever since, and Thursday was another as Hope walked through the gates of Miers Court Primary School in Silverspot Close, Rainham, for her first full day at school.

Jane said: "It was sad to see her go because I love spending so much time with her."

Five years ago, Jane and David almost gave up trying for a baby following six failed attempts at in-vitro fertilisation.

Doctors said the only option left was egg donation, when a healthy egg from a donor is fertilised outside the body and implanted in the hopeful mum-to-be.

With such a high demand for egg donors, Jane, of Beverley Close, Rainham, made an appeal to our readers.

Two women came forward and after treatment at the Lister Hospital in London, Jane fell pregnant at the second attempt.

Hope Elizabeth was born four weeks early by Caesarean section on January 3, 1996, at All Saints' Hospital, weighing five-and-a-half pounds. And Hope, who is now five years old, knows just how special she is.

Jane, 43, explained: "We have been really open about it and when the time comes we will explain it properly."

The family has no plans to try for another baby because Jane and David are grateful for their one bundle of joy. Speaking outside the school gates, Jane said: "We wouldn't try for another one because we don't want to be greedy."