Dental nurse Trudy Dean gained a crash course in midwifery when she helped deliver her grandson while her car was stuck on ice.

Miss Dean, 49, who works at Chippenham Hospital, helped 25-year-old Jenny Orwin give birth to baby boy Kai on the passenger seat of a Volkswagen Passat.

At 7am last Friday Miss Orwin, from Chaveywell Close, Calne, woke up with contractions two minutes apart and asked for a lift to Chippenham Hospital.

Miss Orwin already has two girls Leah and Eloisa, aged eight and three. She knew she needed to reach the hospital fast as her previous labours had been short, lasting only around three hours.

She got into Miss Dean’s car along with her partner Dean Slade, 29, a self-employed painter and decorator.

But although Miss Dean had managed to get to the couple from her home in Woodhill Rise, Calne, once she had collected them the car hit an icy patch. She rang 999 to call an ambulance, but Miss Orwin’s waters broke in the car before it arrived.

Miss Dean, who followed instructions over her phone, said: “The car was sliding and there was a parked vehicle I would’ve hit if we had carried on.

“I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.

"The only time I worried was when the operator told me to check the cord wasn’t round his neck.

“I knew that I just had to get on and do what I had to do. She kept me calm by talking through it step by step. When I saw his head and he had cried it was quite emotional.

“I would like to say a big thank you because I couldn’t have done it without her. I’m a very proud nanny.”

Kai, who weighed 9lbs 9oz, was born at 8.14am. Two minutes later the ambulance arrived and paramedics helped cut the umbilical cord.

Miss Orwin said: “It was very awkward because of the space, but he came out screaming so I knew he was fine. I had already packed a blanket and towel so we kept him warm.”

It took the ambulance 45 minutes to get from Calne to Chippenham Hospital. “The ambulance driver had to reverse down the steep hill and get past all the cars that were stuck. He did an amazing job,” said Miss Orwin.

“When I got in there were about six midwives waiting for me. They weren’t expecting me to have him with me when I got there. It was a truly amazing experience. It’s a story to tell him when he grows up.”

An ambulance service spokesman said: “We get many different 999 calls – some of them pregnancy related. These are always memorable for our call handlers.

"Our call handlers are not medically trained, they follow prompts on a screen, but they often play an important role in being a reassuring voice. We are delighted for mum and baby.”