Louise Brown, the world's first test-tube baby, has spoken for the first time about the blood-splattered hate mail her parents received after her ground-breaking birth.
Brown was born at Oldham General Hospital in July 1978 after her parents became the first people to successfully undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF). She has revealed that the news provoked revulsion among some members of the public as she described a hate campaign waged against her parents, John and Lesley Brown.
In her autobiography, published next month, she reveals that her family received postbags full of mail, including one package from America containing letters covered in red liquid, a broken glass test tube and a plastic foetus.
Ms Brown, who turns 37 today, said: "It was menacing and scary. I would say a completely sick act by some sick minds.
"Imagine how worrying this was for mum."
