IPSWICH'S sculpting celebrity has had a beautiful baby boy, to give the perfect end to one of the most important days of his life.Sean Hedges-Quinn, better known as Coach, was in raptures as his statue of Sir Bobby Robson was unveiled in Portman Road on Tuesday.

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By JON TUNNEY

jon.tunney@eveningstar.co.uk

PERFECTION – one joyous word that summed up the biggest day in the sculptor coach's incredible life.

Sean Hedges-Quinn, better known as Coach, was in raptures as his statue of Sir Bobby Robson was unveiled in Portman Road on Tuesday in front of the soccer

legend.

His only wish at the time was for his heavily-pregnant wife, Hayley to give birth. And she duly obliged – less than two hours after the partying stopped.

He said: "I'm absolutely delighted, what can I say? What a day.

"I thought before that if everything worked out it would be like 15 Christmases rolled into one. But it's even better than that."

There was speculation before the event the Ipswich Town fanatic would name his new nipper after Sir Bobby to mark the momentous event.

But Coach and his wife chose Joseph Patrick as a poignant reminder of Coach's dad who sadly died last year

He said: "My dad saw the Alf Ramsey statue and he saw the Bobby Robson one before it was finished, but he couldn't see the unveiling.

"It's a very emotional time for me, but very special."

Coach and his family left the partying at Portman Road at about 4pm to head back to their Wattisham home for a more close-knit affair.

Most of the guests left at about 8pm, but the final curtain fell an hour later when Hayley's contractions started. She reached hospital about 10.40pm and Joseph was born less than 20 minutes later.

At Portman Road earlier, Sir Bobby dragged Coach up on to the stage to receive a much-deserved round of applause from the hundreds of well-wishers.

But the biggest treat of the day was yet to come. Coach said: "The sun shone, the unveiling was fantastic and now I've got a beautiful baby boy. The best thing about it is that one day I can go to the statue and say 'Joseph, you were born the day this was unveiled.' That will be great."