NEIGHBOURS came to the rescue of a High Wycombe woman when she went into labour in a dramatic doorstep delivery last week.

For Amy Drew, 21, of The Risings, High Wycombe, things moved so quickly she could not even get back inside her house before little Olivia came along.

Her partner Mark Owen, 25, and neighbours had to help deliver their baby on steps outside the couple's house.

Amy, a former nanny, said: "I had twinges throughout the night but I didn't think much about it because I had been having contractions throughout my pregnancy. I got to my mum's house at about 11am but my contractions went from every seven minutes apart to six, to five, so we then came home."

The mum who also has a 22-month-old son, Henry, had a slow labour during his birth and assumed her second birth would be just as long.

She said: "It got quite painful quite quickly. As we walked out of the house we managed to get to the top of the stairs. I had quite a big contraction. My body just pushed and I felt that her head had come out.

"A neighbour heard me shout and came to help Mark carry me down the stairs and then I knew her shoulders were going to come out. They put me down on the steps and I just remember pulling down my trousers and she was in them.

"I didn't even have a chance to get back into our house."

Neighbours in the area brought out blankets to help the couple. Mark was talked through the delivery by medical staff and a healthy 6lb 13.5oz Olivia was born at 1.35pm.

Mark, who is deputy manager at The Litten Tree pub in Frogmoor, said: "It was an experience. It was all systems go trying to get into the car and into the hospital. We hadn't planned for a home birth. It was a bit shocking - I didn't expect to see what you see. My main concern was to make sure they were all alright.

"It was one of the best experiences to see everything and be there - it makes you feel a bit closer."

The birth went so well that neither mum nor baby had to go into hospital and were able to receive visits from their neighbours later that day.