HAVE you ever wondered what happens if you are born on a leap year - do you actually get an annual birthday?

Wincham couple Michelle and Anthony Laffey have had 12 months to ponder that intriguing quirk of the calendar, as their son, James David, was born on February 29 last year.

Their solution was to celebrate little James' birthday a day early, on February 28, even though technically he is still aged zero and will be until 2008!

The reason behind leap years is to keep everything in order - a year actually lasts 365-and-a-quarter days but is simplified to 365 days so every four years those quarters are combined to make an extra day.

Of course knowing this will not make up for the fact that James will have to wait until he's 260 to retire!

Mum Michelle, of Pear Tree Drive, said: 'Everyone keeps telling me it is a special thing but I was quite upset at the time of the birth - because there isn't a February 29 every year it means there isn't an official day to celebrate James' birthday. He's still technically not here at the moment!

'We registered him as born on February 29 and | presume he will go up one, two, three, four but not have an official birthday.'

Still, it didn't seem to matter to James that his big day was brought forward - he still got lots of presents until his birthday doesn't roll around again next year.