SWNS
A dad saved his newborn baby's life after he remembered a technique used in an episode of medical drama ER.
Andrew Davis sprang into action when his girlfriend suddenly gave birth - with a 'woosh' - in the footwell of their car on the way to hospital.
The drama – which compared with anything seen on screen – happened when Andrew, 44, drove pregnant Sarah Pearson to hospital in their Fiat Punto after she went into labour at home.
But just a few minutes into the journey the baby suddenly 'popped out' and landed in the footwell.
The couple realised the baby - who they have named Cecilia - wasn't breathing so Andrew sprung into action.
Using a technique he had seen on the hit US drama, he patted his daughter on the back at the side of the road and managed to revive her.
Andrew said: "We'd only got a couple of minutes down the road when Sarah started screaming like I've never heard anyone scream before.
"All of a sudden there was this huge 'woosh' - as if someone had chucked a bowl of water into the car.
"Then I looked across and the baby was in the footwell. She was blue. I stopped the car and we both just screamed at each other. I had no idea what to do.
"I don't know where it came from, but I suddenly remembered an episode of ER - they patted a baby on the back, so that's what I did.
"All of a sudden all this fluid came out of her mouth and she started crying. I was so relieved."
Sarah, 31, added: "Andrew obviously helped the baby as she wasn't breathing - he basically saved her life."
Andrew rang 999 from their car after the birth but was stunned when an operator told him they were not a priority call.
He was forced to finish driving the five miles to Nottingham City Hospital himself with his partner and their newborn daughter in the back.
Andrew and Sarah are now back home in Woodborough, Nottinghamshire, with Cecilia and their older daughter India, three.
Sarah said they have now lodged a complaint with East Midlands Ambulance Service after they allegedly refused to offer them immediate help.
She said: "The ambulance service rang us back and when we told them we'd left, he told us we shouldn't be leaving. I just thought that was ludicrous.
"How bad does something have to be for it to be a priority? Surely having a baby at the side of the road should be an emergency?"
Andrew added: "We were very lucky. But it could so easily have gone very, very wrong. She could have bled to death."
East Midlands Ambulance Service insisted operators were not aware of any complications with Sarah's dramatic birth. They classed the case in accordance with national guidelines as the baby was no longer in danger when the 999 call was made.
A spokesperson added: "We understand why Sarah wasn't happy about our response to this incident as the situation she found herself if was clearly unexpected.
"On receipt of her complaint, we carried out an investigation and established that there were no complications with the birth.
"The call was correctly categorised as requiring an ambulance response within 30 minutes.
"This categorisation is in accordance with nationally-set response times for incidents where a life is not at risk.
"We advised Sarah to stay parked-up but we were told she wasn't going to wait for the vehicle to arrive and would carry on to hospital.
"At this stage, the ambulance was cancelled. We have spoken to Sarah on the phone and explained the reasons for her call being categorised as it was.
"During the conversation, we also offered an apology for any distress she may have experienced."