A COUPLE have praised the police officer who stopped their car for travelling too fast and ended up escorting them to hospital for the birth of their baby.

First-time mother Claire Rank, from Witton Gilbert, in County Durham, had been in slow labour for four days and was experiencing agonising regular contractions as her partner, Ian Bogle, drove her to the University Hospital of North Durham on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, PC Mike Fisher, from Durham Constabulary’s Road Policing Unit, was patrolling the A167, at Croxdale, when he spotted their vehicle driving faster than normal, at about 8pm.

The Northern Echo: SISTERS: Baby Arabella with her proud older sisters Olivia, aged seven, and Ruby, aged six.
SISTERS: Baby Arabella with her proud older sisters Olivia, aged seven, and Ruby, aged six

After flagging the car down and seeing that heavily pregnant Miss Rank, aged 30, was in labour, PC Fisher told Mr Bogle to follow him to the hospital.

When they approached Durham City centre, the officer activated the blue lights on his patrol car to allow the couple to drive straight through all the traffic lights.

On her arrival at the hospital, Miss Rank was given gas and air to relieve her pain and, after complications arose during the final stages of labour, baby Arabella Daisy Bogle was born by emergency c-section, on Saturday afternoon, weighing 6lb 10oz.

Mr Bogle, aged 34, who has two other daughters Olivia, seven, and Ruby, six, from a previous relationship, said: “I had just put my foot down on the dual carriageway when I saw the police car behind us and I just thought ‘oh no’.

“Obviously I was going a bit faster than I should have been but PC Fisher was a bit of a Godsend.

“He could see Claire was clearly in pain.

“He radioed through to let the rest of the Force know what was happening and just let us drive straight through all the red lights.

“It was great, that was just what we needed.”

After seeing the couple safely into the hospital, PC Fisher left a note on their car windscreen wishing them well.

He was one of the first people to meet the baby and visited the hospital twice over the weekend to check that all was well with the family.

Miss Rank, who was once told her chances of conceiving were slim to none after battling leukaemia five years ago, expressed her joy at becoming a mother and thanked PC Fisher for his help.

She said: “Arabella is a little miracle for us.

“I am over the moon with what PC Fisher has done.

“When I saw the flashing blue lights behind our car on Friday I just thought ‘you’re kidding me, this is not what we need’.

“I was getting myself so stressed and upset.

“I was just so pleased he wasn’t going take Ian’s time up and that he was going to help us.

“He is a really nice man.”

PC Fisher congratulated the family on Arabella’s safe arrival and said: “When I saw the car going a bit too fast, I thought ‘let’s have a word with you’.

“Not for one second did I think the front seat passenger would be in labour.

“I just said ‘follow me’.

“It was all done in a very controlled manner.”