NEW dad Giuseppe Melillo is hoping his baby son will follow in the footsteps of his namesake, motorbike racer Valentino Rossi.

Mr Melillo, 32, has already bought the new arrival a mini moto and is hoping he will grow up to be a racing driver. Mum Leisa Melillo, 25, said she was tired after the birth of her first child, but was looking forward to taking him home.

She said: "The pregnancy was fine until the end. I was quite sick at the beginning but after that I loved being pregnant. I didn't have cravings for food, except Special K and Guinness, but for smells like wood and creosote so I used to go and sit in the shed."

Despite going into labour on Friday afternoon, Rossi still had not arrived by Saturday morning and Mrs Melillo had to be taken to Royal United Hospital, Bath, where he was delivered.

Mrs Melillo said: "He just didn't want to come out. He's the image of his dad, I can't see any of me in him at all. He has his dad's Italian nose." Mr Melillo said he was very proud of the way his wife had coped with the birth. "She was so good and didn't take anything except gas and air. We've been married a year and half and this is the best thing we've done."

Born: April 15, 2.18pm, Weight: 7lb 4oz, Parents: Leisa and Giuseppe Melillo, of Hilperton