He is not even a year old but Theo has the spending habits to rival a Hollywood superstar. 

In the past year his mother Sophie Vickers has splashed £17,000 on designer clothes and toys for her baby. The lavish lifestyle is a shocking example of Britain’s obsession with aping celebrity lifestyles.

The little boy, her only child, already rivals Imelda Marcos with 80 pairs of shoes – costing more than £4,000

His wardrobe is full of designer outfits worth £9,000 and he has hundreds of toys and three pushchairs.

He already has 40 pairs of trousers, 40 pairs of shorts, three leather jackets and 40 T-shirts – all from designer brands.

Miss Vickers admitted: ‘Theo is spoilt. Just one pair of my favourite shoes for him, baby Doc Martins, can cost £120, but I can afford it so why not?

‘Buying things for Theo gives me pleasure.’

The 22-year-old insisted that despite enjoying a spendaholic lifestyle she would still be able to teach Theo the difference between right and wrong.

She added: ‘It doesn’t mean he won’t know I have to work to give him a good life.’

It is not clear how Miss Vickers, who is a part-time administrative assistant from Tyne and Wear, and her carpet fitter partner Chris, 25, can afford such a lavish approach to parenthood.

She insists she does not spend on credit cards, but is reluctant to discuss the family’s income.

She explained that after forking out for rent and bills for their three bed maisonette almost all their income is spent on their only child – even claiming that Theo, who can’t talk, agrees with herHe would hate to be dressed in something scruffy and he admires himself in the mirror in his new clothes and shoes,’ she claims bizarrely. 

However, Theo simply cannot fit in to many of the items any more because like any baby he is growing fast.

Psychologist Dr Funke Baffour said she was stunned at Miss Vickers’ behaviour.

She added: ‘The baby has become a trophy. It’s about how Sophie’s feeling, not the baby who doesn’t know or care if his shoes are designer.

‘Spoiling a child means they don’t learn what life’s really about. She’s setting him up for failure, even at this early stage.’

Miss Vickers is planning to throw Theo a huge first birthday party with fifty guests and plans to spend hundreds on presents for him including a quad bike and trampoline.

She said: ‘I’m always going to want to give Theo everything. Chris would like another child, but I’m not sure. If I had more kids I wouldn’t be able to lavish so much on Theo.’

‘It doesn’t mean I won’t teach him the difference between right and wrong, or that he won’t know I have to work to give him a good life.

The full interview appears in Closer magazine, on sale now.

By LIZ THOMAS

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