PCSOs help to deliver baby in Peak District launderette

PCSOs Jo Turner and Amanda Bardsley were making their way from Glossop to New Mills when they were flagged down by a member of the public who asked if they could take a lady who was in labour to hospital.

Francesca Ribenfors was only 30 weeks into her pregnancy when she went into early labour while at the Spring Clean launderette in Glossop.

Luckily, one of the customers in the launderette was a nurse, who also had a friend who was a midwife. While PCSO Turner headed off to collect the midwife, PCSO Bardsley remained at the scene, offering support and helping out.

Francesca said: “I was in the launderette getting a duvet dry cleaned and I just started getting pains so I called my partner David (Berry) and then it just ramped up so I called an ambulance as well while I was waiting for him to come and get me.”

When David arrived, Francesca was still on the phone to the ambulance service who asked if he could see the baby.

“I hadn’t really realised it was that serious,” Francesca said, “but I put my hand down and I could feel him. I’d gone outside the launderette to get some fresh air, I went back inside pushed and few times and he came out. It was really quicky, he arrived breech, feet first.”

The drama wasn’t quite over yet though as Francesca explained: “He stopped breathing so we had to do some rescue breaths and then a neo-natal nurse turned up and she did some rescue breaths as well. Otherwise he was absolutely fine, but because he was ten weeks early he just needed a fair bit of time in hospital to catch up.”

And for PCSO Turner, who had only been with the force for a few weeks at the time, it was an incident she’ll not forget in a hurry.

“For me it was a real baptism of fire, coming into the job and never thinking for a minute that I’ll be involved in that" she said. "It just proved to me what a varied job being a PCSO is as you never know what you’ll stumble upon.

Weighing just 3lbs 7oz when he arrived on 23 December 2022, Samuel, who is now five months old, is happy and healthy at home in New Mills with his parents and big brother Joseph, none the wiser about his unusual entry into the world.

“It was not quite what we were expecting,” Francesca said. “Because he was ten weeks early I hadn’t started maternity leave or anything like that so it threw everything up in the air.

“I think that’s what was the scary bit too – being in the launderette and David delivering him would have been scary but not nearly as scary as the fact that he was so early being born because we didn’t know if he was going to be ok or anything.

“I often think about the what ifs because I was only 30 weeks so I was still out walking the dog by myself and everything as you would and I could have been anywhere.

“It was so reassuring there being so many people, and how the police, midwife and neo-natal nurse just appeared from everywhere which was just wonderful.

“Given that everything is fine now it is quite amazing and quite incredible how it’s turned out.

“As much as it was a surprise and it would have been better if the ambulance had been there or the midwives had turned up sooner, for what it was, it couldn’t have been better – it wasn’t a terrible experience just because of everybody around helping.

“We’re just really grateful for everyone who was there and helping out. It’s a funny kind of story to be able to tell him and for him to tell people when he’s older.”

Naturally being involved in such an unusual incident had a lasting impact on our officers who were keen to check on the progress of mum and baby.

“It was really lovely how the police came round the next day to just check everything was ok,” Francesca said. “I wasn’t in but my stepdad answered the door and he was really moved by it. Then when I did a Facebook post to thank people, Jo (PSCO Turner) got in touch and they both came round and brought presents for him and Joseph which was really thoughtful. It was really lovely and good to hear their side of things as well as someone helping out to see what it was like from their perspective as it was all just such a blur for me and David.”

PCSO Turner added: “He feels quite special to us now. I should think that it’ll be a yearly thing now, we’ll probably drop him a birthday card off now every year for the rest of his life.”