Ex-TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh has said she experienced “every parent’s worst nightmare” when she found her baby “blue” in his cot.

She said on Instagram that 18-month-old Roman was taken to hospital but is now home and “back to his cheeky self”.

Mecklenburgh said she and partner Ryan Thomas “may never fully recover” and told her followers: “Just over a week ago I found Roman blue in his cot – probably every parent’s worst nightmare.

“Without going into too much detail it ended up with Roman being transferred to St Mary’s London intensive care being put on a ventilator.

“Thankfully we are now all home and Roman is back to his cheeky self.”

Mecklenburgh, who used to be regular on The Only Way Is Essex, posted a close-up picture of Roman’s arm in hospital.

She said she was “eternally grateful” to the ambulance service, Basildon hospital, St Mary’s hospital, and the Cosmic charity – which cares for babies and young children in intensive care.

The 30-year-old added: “Although mentally we as a family may never fully recover, we feel extremely blessed to have our special boy home in our arms and it has truly opened our eyes to all the hardworking superheroes working in our hospitals who dedicate their lives to helping others and how extremely lucky we are to have these incredible medical services free for us all in the UK.

“Thank you NHS and all the charities that support the NHS.”

Her partner, Thomas, 37, posted a picture of himself hugging Roman in hospital.

“No words can explain how grateful we are to have our little boy home safe after spending nearly a week in intensive care,” he said on Instagram.

“As parents it’s been one of the scariest times of our lives but with thanks to our amazing doctors & nurses we have king Roman back playing, smiling & more importantly eating, i would like to thank the @nhs and also @cosmic_charity who have been unbelievable.”