After trying for 30 minutes to bring two-week-old Woody Lander back to life, doctors decided there was nothing more they could do and called in his parents to say their tearful farewells.

A nurse passed Woody to his heartbroken father and gently pulled a tube from his mouth so they could kiss him goodbye.

It was then that the miracle happened. The lifeless baby suddenly coughed and moved. Nurses immediately grabbed Woody back, re-attached the tubes and lifesaving equipment and he came back to life in front of his astonished parents.

No one has been able to explain why Woody, who had suffered a massive heart attack, was able to return from the brink. And despite being starved of oxygen for so long, he appears to have suffered no permanent brain damage.

Now 14 months old, Woody is a happy-go-lucky youngster who should be able to lead a normal life. His parents Jon, 34, and Karen Lander, 32, still can’t believe what they went through.

They had been shopping in a supermarket near their home in Leeds in December 2005 when they noticed Woody looked ashen and felt cold.

They rang the NHS Direct emergency line from their car and an ambulance was sent to take them to Leeds General Infirmary. Soon after arrival, he suffered a heart attack and stopped breathing.

Mr Lander and his wife, an administration worker, were taken to a room to see Woody on a bed and a doctor giving him heart massage. They were taken to another room to wait for news.

Mr Lander, a civil servant, recalled: “It was awful, those 30 minutes seemed to last forever. After what seemed like an eternity the doctor came out and said, ‘I think we have done all we can’. They had reached the cut-off point for resuscitation.

“We were taken back to see him and Woody was handed to us to say goodbye. We were just in bits. We didn’t know what to say or do. They started taking his tubes out and that’s when he started twitching.

“They took him straight back off us. They managed to get his heart going again and he came back to life in front of us. It was amazing. We still don’t know how he managed to come round - we just know he’s a little miracle. He’s growing up into a happy and healthy little boy.”

Two weeks before the drama Woody, the couple’s first child, had been born naturally at the hospital, weighing 7lb 11oz.

After the heart attack, doctors discovered he had a blocked aorta which was restricting blood flow to his heart. He underwent a major operation to repair it and was allowed home three weeks later.

Mr Lander added: “The doctors said they had never heard of anyone coming round after 30 minutes of apparent lifelessness, let alone a baby.

“But the people at the hospital were unbelievable. They made the miracle happen. There must have been 100 people gathered round him.”

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