A baby born a month early on New Year’s Day was a Giant surprise for his parents.

Charlotte and Justin Hill were not expecting their baby Elisha Timothy Hill until January 30.

But little Elisha, who is the couple’s first child, was born at Macclesfield Hospital at 3.50am on January 1.

Charlotte and Justin, of Mason’s Lane, Macclesfield, are practicing Christians with the Good News church at the Heritage Centre and gave Elisha a biblical name meaning: God is our salvation.

But it is also the name shared by Eli Manning, a quarterback for the New York Giants, Justin’s favourite American football team.

But Elisha is far from a giant, weighing a tiddly 4lbs exactly, which means he is currently being cared for at the Special Care Baby Unit.

Charlotte, 25, a chemist at AstraZeneca, said she and her husband, a 32-year-old adult support worker, were surprised but delighted by their New Year’s Day gift.

She said: “We are thrilled at little Eli’s arrival and he’s getting great care at the hospital.”

Eli’s middle name, Timothy, is a tribute to Justin’s younger brother who died of a chromosomal disorder when he was a baby.