Rescue chopper delivery
rescueram Petty Officer Marcus Wigfull.
A Dronfield man helped deliver a baby on a rescue helicopter while it was 1,000ft in the air.
The 7lb baby boy was delivered by winchman paramedic Marcus Wigfall on board the chopper which was airlifting the mum-to-be from Unst, Britain’s most northerly isle, to hospital in Shetland.
Dad-of-two Mr Wigfall, 40, said: “To be honest, I wasn’t nervous.
“It all happened so quickly and my training just kicked in.
“It all went very smoothly – there were no complications.”
He added: “We knew we had about a 15 to 20-minute transfer time to the hospital but within moments of bringing the mother on board we realised we weren’t going to make it to the hospital.”
Alex Dodge, watch manager at Shetland Coastguard, said it was the first time a baby had been born on the rescue helicopter.
He added: “It’s a lovely story – the crew are delighted.
“We’d like to congratulate the mother and father on the birth of their son, who is reported to be doing well.”
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Weather for Chesterfield
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
