Police officers chasing a speeding motorist ended up witnessing the birth of a baby girl.
The motorway is not an ideal birthing location. However, 26-year-old Tiffany Ellmore had little choice after going into labour early. Her dad, Colin Ellmore, raced down the M275 near Portsmouth at speeds of 100mph towards the hospital, prompting police officers to give chase.
Officers flashed their blue lights but Ellmore failed to stop. Believing the vehicle to be stolen, four unmarked cop cars boxed Ellmore in and forced him to pull over. As Ellmore exited the car, the seven officers thought he may be trying to make an escape, only to then witness him deliver his granddaughter, Lola Mia Rose, at the roadside.
The mother explained “As the car was moving my waters went, then the police pulled us over and my dad came round and opened the door. I knew she [the baby] wasn’t going to wait and then suddenly her head started to appear. The whole thing was quite scary.”
Officers radioed for an ambulance to take Ms Ellmore and Lola, who was two weeks early and weighing 6lb 4oz, to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham. Mr Ellmore was allowed to continue his journey with wife, Elaine, Tiffany’s partner Steven and Lola’s seven-year-old brother, Ralphy. Though this isn’t Ms Ellmore’s first child, it is undoubtedly the most dramatic birth of her four children.
Sergeant Simon Goss, of the Road Policing Unit, said, “When we got to the car, we saw the baby in the man’s hands. I have never experienced anything like it before.” Goss confirmed that no action would be taken in light of the circumstances.
Figures released earlier in the year showed that pregnant women are 42 per cent more likely to crash, so it’s just as well Ms Ellmore let her dad take the wheel.
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