A police officer is celebrating the joy of fatherhood after the ultimate "gift" from a colleague.
The constable and his wife, who did not want to be identified, had a long, heartbreaking battle to become parents. Their last option was to find an egg donor.
Up stepped a fellow police employee and the couple now have a baby girl.
"We couldn't be happier," the constable told the Police Association newsletter. "What a gift, eh? How do you thank someone who gave you a child?"
The couple had turned to Police News in a last-ditch attempt to become parents. A letter in the December 2012 edition outlined the couple's plight.
"After three surgeries for endometriosis removal and unsuccessful attempts at IVF, we have been told this is our only option," read the letter, signed by "one stressed-out, want-to-be-dad".
A police communications centre employee donated an egg but the couple's rollercoaster ride of emotions continued until the constable's wife fell pregnant.
She developed a severe migraine and then vomiting for four days after the embryo transplant procedure, with the couple fearing hopes of a pregnancy had been dashed.
But a blood test a few days later proved otherwise and nine months later a healthy 4.2kg (9lb 3oz) girl was born.
The constable told Police News his daughter was "gorgeous and perfect".