A POLICE officer who ended up escorting a couple to hospital for the birth of their baby after stopping them for driving too fast was delighted to meet their daughter for the first time since that fateful evening six months ago.

Parents Claire Rank and Ian Bogle made point of visiting Durham’s Market Place on Saturday (April 30) when they learned that police officers featuring in hit Channel 5 show Police Interceptors would be there - including PC Mike “Spike” Fisher, who had helped them.

PC Fisher enjoyed a cuddle from Arabella Daisy Bogle during the happy reunion.

First-time mother Miss Rank, from Witton Gilbert, County Durham, had been in slow labour for four days and was experiencing agonising contractions as her partner drove her to the University Hospital of North Durham on Friday, October 16 last year.

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.

Flagging the car down and seeing heavily pregnant Miss Rank, aged 30, was in labour, PC Fisher told Mr Bogle to follow him to hospital. He activated the blue lights as they approached Durham City to allow the couple to drive straight through all the traffic lights.

After complications arose Arabella Daisy Bogle was born by emergency cesarean next day.

Miss Rank said she had dropped a thank you card and biscuits off at the police station shortly afterwards, but PC Fisher was not on duty at the time.

“I saw on Facebook the Police Interceptors were going to be in Durham and that Spike would be there," she added.

“Watching the programme, we knew PC Fisher went by that name and thought it would be a good idea to take Arabella down to meet him - as the only time he had seen her was when she newly born."

“Arabella is very aware of what is around her now and I thought it would be nice for her to meet him too.”

She added: “It was really good to speak to him for the first time. He is a genuinely nice person. We appreciate the way he was with me and Ian at the time, given the situation.

Hundreds of fans of the Police Interceptors were in Durham to meet some of the road policing officers who feature in the action-packed programme.

Each Monday night at 8pm viewers can see the men and women from the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit (CDSOU) anything from dangerous drivers and drug dealers to public order situations.