Wallasey mum tells how she gave birth in middle of snow-hit gridlocked Wirral motorway

Jan 13 2010 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

Wallasey mum tells how she gave birth in middle of snow-hit gridlocked Wirral motorway

A WALLASEY mum gave birth while trapped in gridlocked snow-bound traffic on the M53.

Weighing 8lbs 4oz, little Maggie Hollis made her dramatic entrance in the middle of the motorway just minutes away from Arrowe Park hospital, surrounded by queuing motorists.

Mum and dad Maria and Kevin Hollis left their home on Tuesday afternoon when her contractions started.

But the journey to Arrowe Park hospital, normally just six minutes in a car, was hampered by the icy conditions.

Upon reaching the Woodchurch roundabout, off a slip road to the M53 and a mile away from the maternity ward, the traffic suddenly ground to a halt.

Queues snaked into the distance leaving fireman Kevin with little option but to deliver the baby himself.

For 50 minutes he remained on the phone to an ambulance operator who gave him step-by-step guidance.

He said: “Everybody was sat in their cars wondering what was going on as she started pushing and the birth started.”