Northern Irish police help Derry man witness his son's birth

A man in Northern Ireland was able to witness the birth of his son thanks to some quick thinking from two police officers.

Stephen Daly, from Derry, was driving to Altnagelvin Hospital to see his wife Natasha give birth on Thursday when his car battery died, leaving him stranded on the side of the road, according to the BBC.

Police Constables Merron and Young, noticing that Daly was in some amount of distress, stopped to see if everything was alright. When they realized Daly's predicament, they took him to the hospital in the police car.

"I told them my battery was totally dead and I mentioned that my wife was booked in for C-section and was going to theatre," Daly told the BBC.

"They just said straight away: 'Do you want to get into our car and we will get you up to the hospital?'"

Daly received the full experience of a police escort, with flashing lights and wailing sirens, and he made it the hospital with just minutes to spare.

After he had been given a hospital gown, he arrived in the delivery room just ten minutes before his son was born.

He said that his wife was in a state of panic before his timely arrival.

"She was panicking. I had texted her but she thought I was joking."

Despite playing a hero's role, Constable Merron played down his efforts was just being "part and parcel" of the job.

"Thanks to our lights and siren - our blues and twos - we got through the traffic jam and got the man to hospital just in time for the birth of his baby boy," he said.

"We're all about keeping people safe - it's what we do on a daily basis - but I have to say this was a new one, at least for my colleague and myself."