A POLICE officer turned midwife when Lindsay Miller's baby boy decided to make an early appearance -- on a police station floor!

Detective Sergeant Pam Holgate, of Blackburn police crime management department, delivered the bouncing babe last night.

At 9.45pm she was watching ITV's rural doctor drama Peak Practice at her home in the police house at Langho when Lindsay's partner Chris Jackson rushed in saying his van had broken down and Lindsay was in advanced labour.

He brought Lindsay in and within five minutes Pam, whose husband Mark is also a police officer on rural beat, delivered Chae -- a bouncing 6lb 5oz boy.

Lindsay, of Edisford Road, Clitheroe, said: "Pam did a wonderful job and she deserves a medal! She kept very calm throughout it all." DS Holgate, who has a three-year-old son Alister, said: "It was like one of those things you see on TV -- a man rushes into the police station and says my wife's in labour and the next thing the baby is born -- but this really happened.

"He asked me to ring for an ambulance and I told him to bring Lindsay into the station. I rang my mother who is a health visitor in London and asked her what to do. She was just asking if her waters had broken when I saw the head appearing and I told her I would ring her back.

"Ten minutes later I rang my mum to say I had delivered a healthy baby boy.

"I didn't cry when I delivered him, because of everything that was going on I had to keep calm. It was only when I sat down after the ambulance had gone that I said to myself, 'What have I done?'

"I am chuffed to pieces and just glad it all went well and baby and mum are fine. We told them the next time they are expecting a baby ring us and let us know and get a new car!"

Lindsay, 23, a care assistant at Roefield Nursing Home, Clitheroe, and Chris, a general assistant at Tesco, Clitheroe, already have a 16-month-old son Ewan.

She said: "I was in labour for about ten hours with Ewan so although I had been getting stomach pains all day I waited until the contractions got stronger at 8pm and at 9pm we set off for the hospital.

"We were in Chris's white Astra van and got to Langho when it broke down. Fortunately Chris knew where the police house was and five minutes later Chae was delivered.

"Pam's husband arrived just in time to witness the birth."

Paramedics and a midwife arrived shortly after the birth and cut the cord and took mother and son to Queen's Park Hospital.

Today both doing fine and are expected to be allowed back home -- provided Chris could get the van fixed in time!