Police help in dramatic baby dash

A Devon woman in labour had to be given a police escort to hospital after becoming stuck in heavy traffic.

Nicky Crowhurst and her husband Jan Whitechurch were on the A30 into Exeter and flagged down a passing police car to bypass the traffic.

Ms Crowhurst's waters had broken and she was experiencing contractions every two minutes. She started to panic at the sight of queuing cars.

The police escort helped them make the 45-minute journey in five minutes.

'Backlog'

The couple were on their way from an ante-natal check-up in their home town of Okehampton to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital on Wednesday when the contractions changed from 20-minute to two-minute intervals.

Mr Whitechurch said: "The traffic in Exeter was back-logged. To get to the hospital it would have taken 45-minutes. We got a bit panicky."

It was above and beyond the call of duty Jan Whitechurch

The couple's two other children had both been born within a hour of contractions starting.

They flagged down a marked police car that had just finished a traffic training exercise near the A30.

The police escorted their car along the dual-carriageway and then took the wheel, manoeuvring them through the traffic.

The contractions subsided once the couple reached the hospital and baby Savannah Whitechurch was born within two hours.

Mr Whitechurch said: "I would like to thank the police very much. They could not have done more. It was above and beyond the call of duty."