Burnham-On-Sea parents tell how baby was delivered in moving Land Rover

Thinking she was feeling for dilation, husband Duncan Bennett, 39, was surprised when Cat pulled baby Amelia out on the edge of Odbridge roundabout in Taunton.

Duncan, a farmer from Burnham-On-Sea, says: “Cat was a couple of days over her due date.  I was up early – about 7am – to check on the animals and she seemed fine. But an hour later, she was quite heavily in pain.”

Cat, a veterinary receptionist, adds: “I woke up perfectly fine. I’d been having Braxton Hicks contractions for many, many weeks before labour. But the pain became more regular, from about 7am.”

“I told Duncan, ‘I don’t think I’m going to go out today, I just want to see how things go.’ And it just progressed from there.”

Duncan phoned up the birthing centre Cat was due to be admitted to.  They told the couple to come in if they wanted to – but reassured them not to rush.

Cat and Duncan got in their Land Rover at 8.35am on August 2nd. “By the time we got off the M5, Cat needed to start pushing,” Duncan says.  “I said, ‘don’t do that – you might do more damage.’ I carried on driving, I don’t think she wanted me to panic.”

Just five minutes away from Musgrove Park Hospital, Cat reached down. Duncan believed she wanted to feel how dilated she was – but was shocked when she pulled out the baby.

He adds: “She just put a hand down there – I thought she was checking dilation. But she pulled out a baby – she literally just did it, by herself. I was absolutely shocked, and did well not to crash the car.”

Cat adds: “I felt immediately relieved. It was very intense – and quite a short labour.”

The pair carried on to Musgrove Park, with Cat holding new-born Amelia in her arms – her umbilical cord still attached.

Amelia weighed in at 6lb 7oz, and “thankfully” didn’t suffer any complications.  Cat is recovering well and is back home with their first-born son, Edward, who is two.

Photos: The Burnham couple with their new arrival (Photos via Andy Bennett)