EVERY new parent will have their own special story about the birth of a child.

But Oulton Broad couple Ross and Samantha Parsons have particular reason to be flushed with pride – because their new daughter Leah was delivered by her dad in their downstairs loo!

The domestic drama began on Saturday morning when Mrs Parsons, 25, was at her Roydon Way home while her husband worked a late shift as manager of Great Yarmouth's Grosvenor Casino.

At about 2am, Mrs Parsons started feeling pressure in her abdomen.

Then, an hour or so later, she began to fear her baby was coming as she could feel its head.

Fortunately for Mrs Parsons her husband had finished his shift early and as he walked through the door the first thing he heard was a frantic shout of: 'Get the car, it's coming now!' The couple hoped to reach the James Paget University Hospital in time for the delivery. But as Mrs Parsons got downstairs, she went into the toilet and her waters broke, heralding Leah's arrival.

Helped by a 999 operator, Mr Parsons took on the role of emergency midwife and everything went to plan.

Mr Parsons said: 'I stood in the toilet by Samantha and caught Leah as she came out. It was amazing. It may sound a clich� but I just did not think about it at the time and just got on with it. I feel incredibly lucky I was there at the right time and was the first to hold Leah. It was also lucky we did not get in the car as she would have born halfway down the A12,' he added.

Leah, who had been due to arrive on Saturday, was born at 4.30am, weighing an impressive 8lb 14oz.

After the birth, Mr Parsons had to hug Leah to keep her warm before paramedics arrived and made sure she was healthy. His wife stunned the ambulance crew as she had already begun to clean up in the toilet.

Mrs Parsons, who works at Waveney District Council's benefits office in Lowestoft, made light of the drama.

She joked: 'After what happened perhaps we should have called her Louise or Lou Lou.'

Mrs Parsons added: 'I am very proud of Ross. He did not panic at all. I am glad he was there and he had a good pair of hands. Obviously our main concern at the time was that Leah was OK and luckily she was.

'She is a beautiful baby, but she does not know the fuss she has caused.'

Leah has an older sister Erin, who was born two years ago during a 13-hour labour and weighed 7lb 9oz.

Mr and Mrs Parsons celebrated their third wedding anniversary on Sunday, having met on a blind date.

They said they were both grateful to the paramedics and the 999 operator who helped them.