A baby who was born in the back of a car has been reunited with the firefighters who helped bring her into the world.

Falmouth couple Alice Hearle and Josh Beardmore say the dramatic arrival in May of their second child, Olive, is a story their daughter will share throughout her life.

When Alice’s waters broke a couple of days before her due date, she was checked over at Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) in Truro.

The mobile hairdresser said: “Everything was fine, so we were booked in for an induction at 4pm the next day, and came home to get some rest. In the morning, not much was happening - just the odd mild contraction.”

With it being their second child, the couple were relaxed and thought they knew what was coming. “We chilled out, went for a walk along the seafront,” said Josh. “At about 1pm, Alice phoned the midwives. Everything was fine so they said to stick to the plan.”

But Alice’s labour progressed rapidly. “Five minutes after I got off the phone, I had this secondary water break, with contractions every minute,” she said. “I couldn’t walk, couldn’t talk.

Josh added: “We were in the car when Alice said, ‘I’ve got to push - the baby’s coming’.”

Realising they wouldn’t make it to Truro in time, Josh - a long-serving RNLI lifeboat volunteer used to dealing with emergency situations - quickly thought of a plan B.

He had heard news reports of a fire at Cockwells boat yard, and decided to head there in the hope of encountering firefighters. “When the ambulance service told me to pull over, I thought, ‘I know exactly where to go’,” he said.

“I waved at the guys and said, ‘I need a bit of a hand here, my missus is having a baby’.”

Falmouth Blue Watch and Fire Investigation teams, who were dealing with the closing stages of a fire, sprang into action.

Josh said. “They dropped everything,” said Josh. “The two girls were straight in the car and said, ‘You look after Alice, we’ll deal with the baby’.”

The crew moved a fire engine in front of the car to block the view from the road. Firefighter Katie Hoskins took charge of the delivery while colleague Rosie Tonkin stayed on the phone with the ambulance service.

“If they were nervous, they didn’t show it at all,” said Alice. “They were so comforting and took control of the situation.

“I didn’t have time to be worried. I was just in the zone - I wasn’t really thinking.”

Three pushes and the baby was out. “She cried straight away, so I knew she was okay.”

Baby Olive was born safe and well at 2.36pm on Thursday, May 16. Josh and Alice later took the newborn and their son Teddy, two, to meet the crews.

“I wanted thank them for being so calm and jumping in like they did,” said Alice. “One of the guys even noted the exact time that Olive was born. Little things like that mean a lot.

“It wasn’t the water birth I had planned,” she added, “but I feel really proud and positive about the birth.”

Kath Billing, chief fire officer at Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, said she was “immensely proud” of the crews, adding: “They are a testament to the service and their profession.”