A MAD dash for the maternity unit ended prematurely when a Chester mum gave birth on the back seat of the family car.

Lisa Rogers, 36, and her husband Neil, 42 – who already have two daughters. Emily, 10, and Grace, three – were on the way to the Countess of Chester Hospital from their home in Barnswood, Little Sutton, on Sunday.

But baby Maisy couldn’t wait – and she was born at 3.02pm in the back seat of the couple’s Honda CRV.

Neil said: “Lisa’s waters broke at 9am so we went to the maternity unit at the Countess of Chester, but things weren’t really moving along so she was sent home again at 11.45am.

“Lisa decided to take a bath in the afternoon and started getting big contractions, so we got in the car straight away.

“I wanted to avoid the A41 because of the traffic lights so I took what I thought would be the fastest route – obviously it wasn’t fast enough!”

By the time the couple got to the roundabout at RAF Sealand, Lisa was in too much pain to carry on.

“I had no choice – the baby was coming and I had to pull the car over,” added Neil.

“When I got out and opened the back door, the baby’s head was already out and instinct took over – I called 999 but delivered Maisy before the paramedics arrived.”

Lisa said: “I knew it was too late as soon as I got out of the bath, so I wasn’t expecting to make it.

“Neil was really calm, but all I remember is lying in the back seat in pain, wondering where on earth he was going!

“He cleared Maisy’s airways and made sure she was breathing while I was on the phone to the emergency services.”

Neil said: “Lisa was just amazing. Once she realised she wasn’t going to make it to hospital she just got on with it.”