A mother was turned away from two maternity units before finally giving birth on her sofa.
Tracey Morris, of Hassocks, was planning on having her second child at the Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath, but when she went into labour the maternity ward was full.
Mrs Morris and husband Paul then set off for the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, where they were told maternity staff would be expecting them.
Staff at the Brighton hospital said their baby was not due imminently so the couple returned home – only for little Alfie to arrive in the living room.
Mrs Morris went into labour at 2.30am and, after being turned away twice, she finally got home at 8.30am.
The pair realised they did not have time to get back to hospital before Alfie was born, just after 9.23am.
Mrs Morris said: “It was not a good experience.
“It was a scary place to be and I had no pain relief until the ambulance arrived at the house.
“If they had kept us at Brighton for just an hour, then Alfie would have been born there instead of on the sofa.
“Once we got back, there wasn’t enough time to get back to Brighton.”
Mr Morris fought back tears as he described his fear as his wife delivered their baby at home.
He said: “Knowing you’re not in a hospital is worrying. You don’t know what might happen.
“You don’t know if an ambulance will have the equipment you might need in an emergency.”
Five paramedics arrived at the Morrises’ home, in Friars Oak Road, Hassocks, and delivered baby Alfie. Two midwives arrived shortly afterwards.
A spokeswoman for the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, which runs both the Princess Royal and Royal Sussex County Hospital said: “When this lady called in they had no beds to offer labouring women so we asked her to go to the Royal Sussex County.
“When she arrived she wasn’t in labour, that was at 6.50am, and she was booked in for an inducement.
“Once she got home she had a rapid onset of contractions and the baby was born very quickly."
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