AN Alton man was left holding the baby while desperately dialling 999 for an ambulance as his wife gave birth unexpectedly on the bathroom floor.

Described by wife Rebecca as “the hero of the day”, for Martin Porter it was a whirlwind sequence of events that saw his second son born so quickly he was unable to get Rebecca to the hospital and ended up trying to help by following instructions given by South Central Ambulance Service over the phone.

According to Rebecca, she was two days past her due date when in the early hours of Saturday morning she felt things were beginning to happen and the couple checked in at Frimley Park Hospital, only to be sent home “to see how things progressed”.

It was, explained Rebecca, the hospital where her first son Alex, now three, was safely delivered, but he had arrived in more sedate fashion.

Having packed Alex off to his grandparents, the couple arrived home at 1pm but by 2pm Rebecca was experiencing really bad pains and rushed to the bathroom where her waters broke. One minute later she felt the need to push and young Charlie arrived.

In the meantime, Martin was racing up the stairs, desperately calling 999, and was there just in time to cradle the baby on the bathroom floor.

“Fortunately the baby cried, which was a massive relief because we knew he was all right,” said Rebecca.

In shock at the speed of his arrival, the relieved parents stayed where they were, Martin still holding Charlie, until the ambulance arrived some 10 to 15 minutes later and the paramedics were able to cut the cord.

“I think it was the last job of the day for the paramedics and they were absolutely wonderful,” said Rebecca who had been planning a calming water birth at Frimley Park but “got some kind of mayhem instead - not at all what I was expecting!”