Felixstowe couple deliver baby Florence at roadside as Storm Eunice approached
Josh and Lauryn Vartan spoke to Becky Jago and David Whiteley of ITV News Anglia
A couple have told of the "terrifying but special" experience of delivering their baby by the roadside as Storm Eunice began to sweep the UK.
Josh and Lauryn Vartan thought they had plenty of time to get to hospital in the early hours of Friday morning - but baby Florence thought otherwise.
Mrs Vartan's labour progressed quickly and the couple had not made it far from their home town of Felixstowe in Suffolk before they realised they would have to pull over.
Storm Eunice buffeted the country from the early hours of Friday, bringing winds of up to 80mph when it hit its peak on the east coast in late afternoon.
Talking to the emergency services on the phone, Mr Vartan was given instructions on how to deliver Florence and what he needed.
"They spoke about towels and unfortunately everything I had was packed in the back of the car.
"The only thing I had to hand was Lauryn's dressing gown which was freshly cleaned for the hospital stay - and I caught Florence in the dressing gown."
Mrs Vartan said: "With the storm just starting to brew... the paramedics were so chuffed we'd managed to keep her so warm in the dressing gown because a brand new baby in the middle of all the wind could have been awful.
"But we kept her lovely and warm and that worked quite well."
Florence was Mrs Vartan's second pregnancy, and she added: "I wasn't ready for that speed."
Florence was safely born and within five minutes paramedics arrived.
Mrs Vartan added: "They turned up and I had this purple little baby against my chest and I was shivering because during labour you're so hot, but the wind was really picking up then and we were hanging out of the car...
"We all sat there shell shocked."
Despite the dramatic circumstances of their baby daughter's arrival, the couple insisted they had not been tempted to name her after the storm.
"A lot of the midwives were trying to convince us. If it had been a nicer name, but Eunice!", they joked.