FOOTBALL ace David Dunn and his soap star fiance Sammy Winward have split up, just three months after the birth of their baby daughter, Mia.

The new parents were the picture of happiness at an awards celebration at Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, in July, and said they were hoping to marry next year.

But, according to reports, the couple have mutually decided to end their three-year romance.

Ex-Blackburn Rovers midfielder David, 25, born and bred in Great Harwood, proposed to the 19-year-old Emmerdale actress, who plays heartbreaker Katie Sugden in the soap, on her 18th birthday in September 2003.

But just three months later their relationship hit the rocks and they split up, saying the pressure of work had taken its toll on their long-distance love affair.

After a four-month separation the celebrity couple, who met at a Peter Kay gig, got back together in June 2004 and little Mia was born in June this year.

In July the family moved to the Midlands where David now plays for Birmingham City.

The latest break-up is believed to have happened within days of David's grandma Alice dying of lung cancer at the age of 68.

According to reports, his grandfather David, 67, of Belmont Road, Great Harwood, said the ex-international player was trying to overcome a very difficult period.

A spokesperson for Emmerdale, said: "It is a mutual decision and there is no-one else involved. Sammy and David will remain friends and their primary concern will continue to be their daughter Mia."