A woman has given birth on a packed commuter train.
Sonia Banks went into labour seconds after catching the commuter service to Medway on Thursday.
An off-duty midwife, nurse and policeman all helped baby Phoebe into the world on the carriage floor. She weighed in at 6lb 13oz.
Speaking from her boyfriend’s family home in Poplicans Road, Cuxton, Sonia, 22, said: “I kept thinking I don’t want to be giving birth on a train in front of all those people."
Sonia’s boyfriend Allan Stanley, 21, and his mum Mari-Anne Stanley, 40, took her to Tunbridge Wells Hospital on Thursday after her waters broke.
Mrs Stanley said: “They did some very basic checks and said ‘go home because you’re not going to give birth for a long while yet’.”
The trio got a lift back to Sonia’s flat in Borough Green, where they boarded the train from London Victoria at 7.08pm in a bid to reach Mrs Stanley’s Cuxton home.
Her labour began as the train pulled. Conductor Colin Brooker used his tannoy to plead for anyone who could help.
See tomorrow's Medway Messenger for the full story and lots of pictures.