INNOCENT-eyed Alfie Patten spent his first night acting as a 13-year-old dad and declared: “It was easier than I thought.”
The four-footer — who looks no more than eight — said: “I know I’m young, but I plan to be a good dad.”
As he went on the PlayStation with 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, he added: “I think we’ll be good parents. I’ll have to work extra hard at school.”
Chantelle looked up from 18-rated action game Saints Row II to admit her first night out of hospital since having 7lb 3oz daughter Maisie had been tough and had left her “in a daze”.
Story that rocked Britain ... our front page
Story that rocked Britain ... our front page
But she went on: “Alfie has been really good with her.
“He made the first bottle and then we took it in turns feeding her. He did the first bit with me.
“We didn’t need any help from Mum. I didn’t really get back to sleep. I just lay there in a daze.”
She added: “It feels better to be at home than it does in hospital. I prefer it now I am at home and it is just us and our family.”
Both Chantelle and Alfie change four-day-old daughter Maisie’s nappy and the baby sleeps in her mum’s bedroom in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Parents ... Alfie and Chantelle with Maisie
Parents ... Alfie and Chantelle with Maisie
Lee Thompson
It is a typical teenage bolthole — packed tight with cuddly toys including a giant pink teddy. A school gymnastics certificate is proudly displayed on the wall.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse hold hands, surrounded by lovehearts, on the headboard of her bed — where Maisie was conceived when Alfie was just 12 and Chantelle 14.
Their story, revealed by The Sun yesterday, rocked Britain.
Even Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke out, commenting: “I think all of us would want to avoid teenage pregnancies.”
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But Chantelle insisted: “When I was pregnant the police and social workers came to interview us and they decided that we would make good parents to Maisie.
“Now we will prove to everyone that we can be, and give her a great future. When Alfie is 16 he can come and live here with me and my family.
“We don’t want to get a flat because we wouldn’t have enough money and I want us both to stay in school to make the best future for Maisie.”
Benefits
The pair’s parents have been singled out for criticism. Both knew Alfie and Chantelle were “dating” but said they did NOT know the relationship was sexual.
Alfie lives with mum Nicola, 43, in a £395,000 detached home in nearby Hailsham.
A cheeky message in the window reads: “I am horny.”
Neighbour John Holmes, 90, said: “I have always found them very nice, but I know a lot of neighbours have complained about her noisy parties.”
Nicola is separated from Alfie’s dad Dennis, a 45-year-old father of ten, including three stepkids.
He said: “How were we to know what they were up to? To us they were just kids — we’re as shocked as everyone else.”
Family ... new mum Chantelle with baby Maisie and her own mother Penny
Family ... new mum Chantelle with baby Maisie and her own mother Penny
Lee Thompson
He said the child couple hid the pregnancy for six weeks and added: “I feel that the doctor that told them she was pregnant should have told an adult.”
Chantelle lives with mum Penny, 38, dad Steve, 43, and her five brothers in a council house.
The family survive on benefits. But Penny explained: “Steve is a fisherman and work is sparse.
“I need to be at home to look after Maisie and my other children so that Chantelle can go to school in April and take her GCSEs. What’s important now is Chantelle’s career and her family and that this mistake does not mean she cannot have the same dreams as any other 15-year-old.”
