A British servicewoman has given birth in Afghanistan, after not realising she was pregnant.

The woman, who is originally from Fiji, had a healthy son at Camp Bastion on Tuesday.

Both mother and baby are in a stable condition and will be flown home in the coming days. A specialist medical team from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford is due to arrive in Helmand Province to help bring them home.

The birth took place just four days after the camp, where the bulk of the UK's 9500-strong force is deployed, was attacked by Taliban insurgents who destroyed six aircraft and killed two US Marines.

An MoD spokesman said: "We can confirm that on September 18 a UK servicewoman serving in Afghanistan gave birth in the Camp Bastion Field Hospital to a baby boy. Mother and baby are both in a stable condition in the hospital and are receiving the best possible care.

"A specialist paediatric retrieval team is being prepared and will deploy in the next few days in order to provide appropriate care for mother and baby."

The spokesman added: "It is not policy to allow servicewomen to deploy on operations if they are pregnant. In this instance the MoD was unaware of her pregnancy."

The woman, reportedly a gunner with the Royal Artillery, was deployed with the 17th Mechanised Brigade.