A DEVOTED dad who cares for his young daughter has been hailed ‘one in a million’ after winning a special competition.

James Toal gave up his job to look after his daughter Emily when she was born with Down’s syndrome and a hole in her heart.

The 33-year-old has now been named as the ‘best dad in the world’ after winning a Father’s Day competition run by Cardwell Garden Centre.

His wife Hazel, who nominated him for the accolade, said James volunteered to give up his job in the security industry to become Emily’s main carer and gave her the physiotherapy she needed along with speech and language therapy.

Along with Hazel, he also played a big role in looking after Emily after she had to go through two major heart operations — one when she was only 11 weeks old and the second when she was two. 

Emily also suffered a stroke last year but has miraculously made a full recovery.

Hazel, who is a police officer in Greenock, said: “James really is an amazing dad and step-dad. 

“After my maternity leave when Emily was born, we thought we would be more comfortable if one of us became Emily’s main carer, especially in the early stages when her health was so fragile.

“James said he would give up his work to look after Emily full time. 

“He is phenomenal with Emily and her developmental milestones have been reached a lot earlier than expected thanks to James.

“It’s all down to how much effort and emotion James has put in to looking after her.

“He’s really patient with her and she just adores him — she’s a complete daddy’s girl.

“As well as looking after Emily, James is also dad to my oldest son, Lewis and is devoted to his own son, Calum. 

“He’s just an amazing daddy.”

James says he’s overwhelmed to win the award.

He said: “I had no idea Hazel had nominated me for the Father’s Day contest and I only found out when she told me I had won.

“It’s fantastic that I’ve won, but there are millions of great dads out there and lots of people who found themselves in our position would have done the same.

“I just felt it was the right thing to do and I’ve loved every minute of being Emily’s main carer.”

The garden centre, near Gourock, had asked people to nominate dads on their Facebook page for the prize of a slap-up meal in the Patio Restaurant, along with a hamper of goodies.

 Paul Carmichael, the centre’s retail manager, said: “We had a great response and there were lots of worthy entries.

“But James had made a real sacrifice by giving up his job to look after Emily and become her main carer.

“When they’re together, you can see there’s an incredible bond between them.”