A breast cancer survivor from Winsford who was told she would not be able to conceive again thought the disease had come back until a scan revealed the wonderful news that she was pregnant.

Doctors told 35-year-old teacher Sarah Pickles that she would have a one per cent chance of having another child – even with IVF – after being diagnosed and treated in 2014.

Pioneering chemotherapy treatment at The Christie hospital removed all seven tumours and Sarah had a mastectomy so she could look forward to a cancer-free future.

But just two years after the diagnosis, and after starting IVF treatment, Sarah began to suffer back problems do she rushed into hospital for a scan.

When the staff saw a shadow near her spine they insisted she took a pregnancy test before undergoing more scans – this revealed she and husband Dave, 42, were expecting a ‘miracle’ baby boy – due in June.

Sarah, a teacher, said: “After what we’ve been through together, it’s just perfect.

“Percentage wise, we were told that the chances of us getting pregnant after chemotherapy was probably about one per cent.

“Even when we went to the IVF clinic they said that it was about one per cent that even IVF would work.”

When a stunned Sarah got the happy news Dave, an adventure travel guide, was leading an expedition to Everest base camp meaning she could only contact him via Facebook and it was 24 hours before she was able to reach him and it was a week before they could celebrate together.

Sarah, who already has daughter Lillie, 7, was treated at The Christie and given the new chemotherapy drug, carboplatin.

In 2015 doctors told her the treatment had worked and all seven tumours had been removed.

Sarah underwent a double mastectomy at Bridgewater Wellness Clinic, in Manchester, something she had already been considering because of her family history with the disease.

She said: “I knew from the day I was diagnosed that I had two options, either I was going to let the cancer control me or I was going to control it.

“For me dying was not an option, it was just not, I had to do everything I could to get me through it.”

Last autumn however, Sarah began noticing problems with her back and went to her Macmillan nurse to get it checked out.

Sarah said: “She asked if I thought I was pregnant - I said no, definitely not I can’t get pregnant.

“Ten minutes later she came back in with a pregnancy test that I had done and I think she was a bit scared to tell me because of what I had said to her but she eventually said, ‘you’re pregnant’.

“I didn’t know what to say. I had gone from having these tests and getting reassurance that everything was ok to this. My husband was half way up Everest base camp at the time, leading an expedition, when I told him.

“So he was there and I was here, four weeks pregnant with this miracle pregnancy. It was just meant to be.”

Six months later Sarah, Dave and Lillie cannot wait to meet the little boy who will complete their family.