EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Mum forced into home birth after floods cut off road

WATER baby Charlie Beattie made a memorable arrival into the world when floods meant his mum could not make it to hospital for his birth.

Debbie Beattie went into labour on Tuesday morning, but she and husband Russell, along with three-year-old daughter Lauren, found the roads out from their home in Rayne were blocked by floods and they could not get to William Julien Courtauld Hospital (WJC) in Braintree.

They had to turn back home and two emergency care practitioners, Steve Colmer and Steve Monk, from the ambulance service, who had fought their way through the flood water, made it there just in time to deliver Charlie.

He was born at four minutes past eight and weighed in at a healthy 8lb 13oz.

Proud dad Russell said: "We set out at 7.30 in the morning and found that the road from Rayne to Braintree was about 4ft under water and the alternative route out of the village had flood water 2ft deep.

"I didn't want to risk driving through the floods and by that time Debbie's contractions were two minutes apart.

"She was on the phone to the midwife at WJC explaining that she had the urge to push. The midwife talked her through and the hospital called the ambulance service.

"We turned around to go home and I thought I might have to deliver the baby. But three or four minutes after we arrived home the two Steves from the ambulance service were there at the door.

"They were superb and Debbie, who had decided she didn't want gas and air, gave birth after only taking two paracetamol tablets.

"About half a minute later the midwife, who had been held up by the floods, arrived to help after being brought to the house in a four by four by the police.

"Everything went smoothly and I am so proud of Debbie, Charlie and Lauren, who was with us all the way through and was telling her Mummy to push. I was able to cut the umbilical cord when Charlie was born.

"We are really grateful for all the support given to us by the paramedics and the midwives at WJC, for talking Debbie through the labour until the ambulance crew arrived, for the help given by our midwife just after the birth and the support given all through Debbie's pregnancy."

Now Russell, a trainee architect and Debbie, a former legal secretary, who are both in their late 20s, are looking forward to telling Charlie about being a water baby.

Emergency care practitioner Steve Monk said: "We arrived just in the nick of time to help deliver the baby.

"Normally we would have travelled separately by rapid response car, but decided to take a spare ambulance, hoping the larger vehicle would fare better on flooded roads.

"We stayed at the scene for a couple of hours and worked together with the midwife to carry out full health checks, making sure both mum and baby were stable.

"Fortunately they didn't need to go to hospital and the family, including the proud older sister, were able to stay at home, allowing the new addition to settle in comfortably."

Colleague Steve Colmer said: "We travelled there in the ambulance as quickly as we could, despite us having to make a diversion to avoid an impassible road.

"Within four to five minutes of our arrival the healthy baby boy, Charlie, was born with no complications."