A panic-stricken husband had to deliver his baby in a pub car park after his wife went into labour on the way to hospital.
Ben Russell, 31, said when he saw “a head pop out” he realised he had to do the job himself.
With his wife, Kate, screaming in agony in the passenger seat of his Ford Fiesta, he pulled over in the car park of the Rose and Crown in London Road, Cuckfield.
He said: “It was terrifying but I just thought to myself ‘if I fall apart now and bottle it, it could go massively wrong’. I somehow kept it together. I’ll never forget it.”
The couple, who live in Horsham with their son Elliott, seven, and daughter Eleanor, three, were on the way to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath on Monday morning (April 22).
Mr Russell said: “I was trying to get there as quickly as possible while staying on the road and she kept grabbing my arm and yanking it.
“I asked if she thought we were going to make it and she said no.”
He screeched to a halt in the pub car park, called an ambulance and did his best to comfort his wife as he took instructions down the phone.
Emotional moment
At 11am, just in time for first orders, a baby girl dropped into Ben’s arms, just minutes before the ambulance arrived.
Mr Russell said: “It wasn’t until then that it dawned on me. It was quite emotional, I had a real lump in my throat.
“The paramedic came up and said you’ve done everything else, do you want to cut the umbilical cord, so I did.”
Taking inspiration from the pub, the couple named their new arrival Evaline Rose.
Special place
Mr Russell said: “They are both doing really well and hopefully will be home in the next few days.
“The pub will always have a special place in our hearts.
“We are going to go there for a few drinks after the christening and when she is 18 it would be the obvious place for her first drink.”
Sam Kemp, who runs the pub with his parents Chris and Nikki, said: “We are thinking of putting up a sign outside the pub asking people if they fancy having a baby to stop here.”
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