DOUBLE DELIGHT Family’s special delivery just 14 hours before bride says ‘I do’

FEW mothers or brides could ever imagine welcoming a new baby to their arms then marrying the love of their life on the same day, but Stacey Reeves has done it.

Mrs Reeves knew well in advance she wanted to get married the same day her fourth child, Layla, was born and did just that, 14 hours after she was welcomed to the world.

Mrs Reeves (nee Moore) and her new husband Mark will now have double the reasons to celebrate October 18 every year after the safe delivery and happy nuptials at Toowoomba Hospital this week.

“We had always planned to get married and thought it would be great to do it on the day that bub arrived as both little girls were born here,” she said.

“We did all the paperwork as it has to be done 31 days in advance and we made it with just two days to spare as I was induced to have Layla early.

A TINY outback community is hoping the arrival of a giant wombat will reinvigorate the economy and build hope for the future.

William the Wombat is a two metre high and three-and-a-half metre long recreation of the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed variety.

He was created in Brisbane and made a pit stop to Toowoomba yesterday enroute to its new home, west of the city, at Thallon.

William’s creator Natureworks’ David Joffe said the plan was to develop an icon for Thallon, because it was one of the original habitats for the northern hairy-nosed wombat.

“But over the last 60 to 100 years, the animal has actually become extinct in that area,” he said.

There are now just 250 remaining, 240 at Epping Forest National Park near Clermont and 10 at Richard Underwood Nature Refuge near St George.

Thallon came up with the idea to create William after a community meeting in 2015 to reinvigorate the community after years of drought, loss of services and population decline.

The Wombat Foundation is dedicated to conserving the breed and sponsored the project to build William.

“The town of Thallon is hoping it can put this little tiny town on the map,” Mr Joffe said.

William is expected to arrive in Thallon this morning where he will be placed in a public park.

DOUBLE BLESSING: Stacey Reeves holds baby Layla as husband Mark holds Cleo and siblings Shayleigh and Jasper to mark their hospital wedding.

PHOTO: NEV MADSEN WOMBAT LOVE: Fairview Heights State School students (clockwise, from left) Maya Rummell, Gaby Fogarty and Charlie Radke check out William the Wombat.