A fuel tanker driver helped with a special delivery last week when a baby was born on a petrol station forecourt.
Ed Donohue was on hand when a Brighton couple pulled up as traffic delayed their journey to hospital from Coldean, in Brighton.
Mr Donohue, 50, was delivering fuel to the Gulf Wivesfield Service Station, just south of Haywards Heath, when his day took an unexpected turn.
Expectant mother Amy Holmes and her partner Adam Davies pulled into the petrol station and called for help.
The couple, of Selham Close, Brighton, became stuck in traffic on their way to the Princess Royal Hospital, in Haywards Heath, and soon realised their baby wasn’t going to wait much longer.
With a queue of cars waiting for fuel and Mr Donohue on site with a fuel tanker, Mr Davies waved and shouted for cars to move aside.
Mr Donohue, a former infantryman, leapt into action, helping to deliver their healthy baby son Solomon safely from the front seats of their Citroen Cactus hatchback, guiding Mr Davies and keeping Ms Holmes calm.
Mr Donohue, who works for Certas Energy, said: “I was midway through the fuel delivery when I saw a car coming right towards me and heard the couple inside shouting.
“At first, I thought they were having a domestic but quickly realised they needed help. The driver flung open the passenger door and I could see the birth was imminent!
“The ambulance service were on the phone in the car but there was lots of confusion about getting them to the site so we just had to crack on with it.”
Ed, of Rosalind Drive, Maidstone, said: “I had first aid training years ago when I was in the army so it all just kicked in.
“It was definitely the craziest thing I’ve seen on shift – and possibly that I’ve seen in my 50 years! I don’t feel I did anything special. I’m just happy to have helped.”
Mr Davies, 34, said: “It was a total whirlwind – the most chaotic morning we’ve ever had.
“We were stuck in awful traffic and we could already feel the baby’s head so I knew I had to get us somewhere safe. I was beeping like mad to get us on to the forecourt in time.
“Ed was brilliant. He was by our side throughout it all. He was a beacon of calm. At one point the umbilical cord was caught on the baby’s shoulder and he told me to pull it over the baby’s head and that’s when Solomon came out.”
Baby Solomon was born at 8.46am last Thursday (3 April) at a healthy weight of 7lb 14oz – just five minutes after his parents pulled up on the Ditchling Road forecourt.
Luckily, Mr Donohue, who served in the 1st Battalion of the King’s Regiment for five years and previously worked as a driver for the MoD, had kept up to date with first aid training. Staff at the service station were also on hand and stepped in to help.
Mr Davies, an accountant, said that the day had started off relaxed. While Ms Holmes’s waters had broken two weeks early, they thought they had time to take their older son Marlow, 2, to nursery before heading to the hospital. But baby Solomon had other ideas and arrived just two hours later.
Mr Davies added: “We’re just grateful he’s a healthy weight considering he came early and that we’re all home now.
“Physically we’re all fine but we’re still mentally processing everything that happened. We were probably only on the forecourt for seven minutes in total but it was obviously a really emotional day.”
Andre Salvidge, store manager at the Gulf Wivelsfield Service Station, part of the Tap Retail Group, said: “Nothing like this has ever happened before on site.
“It was heart-warming to see everyone come together to help Amy and Adam. We’re proud that Wivelsfield Service Station was a safe haven for this family in their time of need. We’re sending the whole family our congratulations and best wishes.”
Ms Holmes, 36, a speech and language therapist, and baby Solomon are both healthy and doing well. They are now back home in Brighton enjoying some peaceful family time following Solomon’s dramatic entrance into the world.
