WHEN Sofia Jordan looks at her birth certificate in years to come, she'll see it states a very unusual birthplace.

Unlike most babies, who are born in a hospital or at home, Sofia was delivered in the back of an ambulance.

The ambulance crew came to the rescue on the A339 near Kingsclere when it became clear that parents-to-be Andrea and Matthew Jordan were not going to reach Basingstoke hospital in time.

Mr Jordan, 31, a director of a recruitment company, explained: "We had set off down the A339 at about 6.30pm and phoned the midwife on the way. She advised me to put my foot down but, as is always the case when you are in a hurry, everyone seemed to be going really slowly.

"We even got stuck at Thatcham when a train was crossing, which was really frustrating."

The couple, who live in Thatcham, decided to call 999 for an ambulance after Mrs Jordan's waters broke.

Mr Jordan said: "The guy on the phone was asking lots of questions and then he suddenly said you'd better pull over, you might have to deliver the baby'. At that point, I was like what?' "I pulled over and then managed to lock myself out of the car and Andrea couldn't reach over to let me back in. Then I nearly got run over, so, by the time the ambulance arrived, it was such a relief."

Ambulance crew Lynne Rogers and Jan Bukowski had to act fast when they arrived at the scene.

Miss Rogers, a clinical team leader, said: "We had to make a quick decision as to whether or not we should try and make it to the hospital. We decided we'd better not and, once that decision had been made, we got our equipment ready and put Andrea into the back of the ambulance.

"You never know how long a baby will take to arrive, but Sofia came really quickly. We got there at 7pm and she was born at 7.17pm, weighing 8lb."

She added: "I have delivered babies in the past but this is the first one on the side of the road.

"People call the A339 the killer road', as there are so many accidents there, so it was nice to be able to bring a life into the world on it."

Mr Bukowski, an ambulance technician, said: "It is an immense privilege for us, as it is the most personal thing you can do for someone."

The family were delighted to recently get the chance to meet up and properly thank the ambulance duo, who brought Sofia into the world on February 15, after they were reunited at Basingstoke ambulance station.

"We just wanted to say thank you' so much," said 34-year-old Mrs Jordan. "It was such a relief when the ambulance arrived that night and we'd been trying to get in touch since, so it was so nice to be able to meet up with Lynne and Jan again."

Miss Rogers and Mr Bukowski, who also delivered a baby on a shift just before Christmas, were thrilled to see five-week-old Sofia again and to meet her three-year-old sister Natalya.

Miss Rogers said: "It is probably the first time I have met up with a family afterwards and it has been great."