Couple spend £15k on private jet home after baby born 10 weeks early on cruise

A couple from Bridgend were forced to spend £15,000 on a private jet home after their baby was born 10 weeks premature in Spain.

Lucy Housley, 25, and Connor Benyon, 29, were on a cruise when she went into labour and had an emergency caesarean section. Their little girl, Lilli, was in critical intensive care for two weeks followed by another four in the neonatal intensive care unit.

When Lilli was well enough to travel, the British Consulate would not confirm her nationality to the Spanish border force officers so they could release an emergency passport. Instead, the couple enlisted the help of a private jet company based in Cardiff who brokered a deal between the British and Spanish authorities to allow her to travel on a birth certificate.

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Lucy said: "Trying to make any headway with the passport office was just impossible - our mental health just plummeted. They didn't understand the severity of the situation. It felt surreal because we had so many let downs we didn't quite believe it to be true until we were on the plane and it had taken off.

"After being basically trapped in a foreign country for six weeks, landing in Cardiff was amazing - it was such a relief."In April 2023, managing director Connor and Lucy went on a family cruise. Lucy had been given the all-clear to travel by her doctor as she was in her third trimester of pregnancy.

But five days into their holiday, while the ship was docked in Palamos, near Girona, on April 10, 2023, Lucy went into labour. She had an emergency c-section and baby Lilli was born weighing just 2lb and 8oz on 11 April.

After four days, Lucy was discharged from the hospital. She and Connor stayed in a