A baby was nearly born in the wrong William Harvey when a crash forced expectant parents to pull into the car park of a Willesborough pub with the same name.

Jenna Anthony and Nicky Wright were not quite prepared for the drama that accompanied the arrival of their new daughter, Layla Rose Wright, on Friday.

The couple left their home in Mill Court, off Mace Lane, Ashford, at 8am, expecting a relatively smooth journey to Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital, a mere two-and-a-half miles away.

However, an accident, in which a teenage boy was hit by a car, left Hythe Road gridlocked – forcing the couple to take an alternative route.

Mr Wright said: “It was very dramatic. Hythe Road was mayhem. The baby was coming and Jenna was in terrible pain.”

Mr Wright, 27, desperately tried to find another route, but discovered all the roads off Hythe Road were congested.

Growing increasingly anxious he called for an ambulance, whose control centre told him to stop where he was. So he pulled into the car park of the William Harvey pub, in Church Road.

He added: “If I’d stayed in the traffic jam, she might have been born in the car. I thought it was best to call for an ambulance – they can get through the traffic, after all.

“I have to say it was the longest 10 minutes of my life waiting for it to arrive. It felt like forever. I thought I was going to have to deliver the baby myself.”

Miss Anthony, who is also mum to Bailey, six, and Bluebelle, three, added: “It was very close. I could feel the baby coming. I was thinking ‘just get me to the hospital’. But all the roads were chock-a-block.

“After the ambulance told us to stop, the only place we could think of was the car park of the William Harvey.

“It was like a joke – I wanted to go to the hospital, not the pub.”

Luckily, the ambulance crews arrived in time and managed to get the couple to the hospital.

“I have to say it was the longest 10 minutes of my life waiting for it to arrive. It felt like forever. I thought I was going to have to deliver the baby myself” - Nicky Wright

Little Layla was born less than 25 minutes later, at 8.54am, weighing 8lb 2oz – nine days after her due date.

“It was a very traumatic day, but she is here and she is beautiful,” added Miss Anthony, 29.

“She was born in her waters [amniotic sac], which is supposed to be lucky. Bailey and Bluebelle are loving having a little sister.”

Mr Wright, a railway worker, said: “She is lovely.

“Plus, we heard the boy who was hit is OK, which is great news.”

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