Baby born on London train during rush hour

Mum and dad, Sonia Banks and Allan Stanley had been to hospital less than an hour before - after Sonia's waters had broken - but had been sent home after the hospital told them the baby 'not going to be born for a long while'.

Allan's mum Mari-Anne, who was with the couple, said: '"Luckily on the train there was a midwife, a nurse and a police officer, who were all off-duty, so they helped with the delivery. They were wonderful. All of the other passengers on the same carriage as us were asked to move into another carriage.

"It was about 7.15pm when it all started. I was the person who got off the train at West Malling station and ran to the front to tell the driver not to go any further. I told him, "my daughter-in-law is having a baby on the train".

Commuters left the carriage to give the mother some privacy during the labour and 'cheered and clapped' when Phoebe was born, reports the Daily Mail.

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phone aint stopped all morning everyones loving the story of baby phoebe we wasnt expecting all this attention thank you to evryone #Phoebe

— Adam Lghs Stanley (@AdamStanleyGFC) March 8, 2013

Dad Adam was inundated with phone calls from the media keen to get the details of the story

"The driver kept making announcements to the passengers on the train so they knew what was going on and the reason for the delay. said Mari-Anne.

"Sonia kept gripping my hand really tightly during the labour, she squeezed it so hard I thought she was going to break my hand. But it was actually a pain-free labour, I think she was just nervous because she was giving birth on a train.

"It was the lovely midwife who actually delivered the baby, she was so nice and calm. It must have been a big shock for her. I want to say a really big thank you to all the passengers who were so patient."

'None of the passengers in our carriage complained when they were asked to move to another carriage or get off the train. They were all so nice and concerned. I think they just wanted to make sure there was a happy outcome."

"When the driver announced the baby had been born everyone was clapping and cheering, it was so lovely. I had tears in my eyes. As you can imagine, Sonia and Allan were both very emotional as well."


Image via Thinkstock