The boy with the 6 inch TAIL human tail

Yang Yang, now 11 months, was born with the 6 inch (15cm) tail

Doctors believe it occurred as his spine didn't form properly in the womb 

Mother said it wasn't a problem at first and she lifted it to change his nappy

Has now had the growth removed after developing weakness in his legs 

A baby boy in China born with a 6 inch tail due to a birth defect has finally had it removed.

The 11-month-old child, dubbed Yang Yang by local media, was born with the 15cm long fleshy growth.

His family nicknamed him 'little monkey' and though they resisted having surgery to remove the tail at first - he had the operation this month.

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Yang Yang, who is now 11 months old, was born with a 6 inch tail due to a birth defect. He had it removed at a hospital in Chongqing, in the province of Sichua, south-west China

Yang Yang developed the tail in the womb as a result of a neural tube deformity, according to People's China Daily.

During the first month of life, an embryo grows a structure called the neural tube that will eventually form the spine and nervous system. 

It is thought something went wrong with this process and Yang Yang's spine didn't develop properly.

His mother, unnamed in reports, said: 'It wasn't a big bother in the beginning - I' d just lift the "tail" when I needed to change his nappies.' 

But several months later Yang Yang started going to the toilet more frequently and his mother noticed he wasn't very strong when he kicked - and feared something was wrong.

The family were told they would have to wait until he was a little older to have surgery to remove the growth. 

When doctors said he was old enough for the operation, they went to Southwest Hospital in the neighbouring city of Chongqing to have it removed.

Lin Jiangkai, lead physician in Yang Yang's operation, said the tail was most probably due to the child's mother not taking enough folic acid supplements during pregnancy. 

The tail was removed during a successful surgery, as Mr Jiangkai said the child could develop problems in his lower limbs if the family had waited any longer.

MailOnline has also reported on the story of Arshid Ali Khan, 13, who was worshipped as a God in Punjab because he was born with a 7 inch (18 cm) tail. 

Locals hailed him a reincarnation of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman - and refer to him as Balaji.

They believed he too was born with a tail due to a neural tube defect known as spina bifida, where the spine doesn't develop properly.

This also left him in a wheelchair and unable to walk - so last year doctors at Fortis Hospital Mohali in Punjab removed the growth to help him move around better in the future.