A baby girl safely delivered in a broken-down lift has been named Ella after the elevator she was born in.
Mother Melissa Cavanagh called paramedics to her home, on the ninth floor of a block of flats, after she started having contractions on Friday afternoon, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
On arrival, the three paramedics ruled out using the numerous flights of stairs to get the expectant mother to hospital, so Ms Cavanagh, 23, boyfriend Paul Yeomans, 25, and the medics all got into the lift, only for it to grind to a halt.
After being stuck for 20 minutes in cramped, hot conditions, the mother-to-be’s contractions became increasingly frequent and it became obvious the baby was not going to wait for a rescue.
Nikki Wildman, one of the paramedics, said: “During the delivery we could hear the fire service desperately trying to get to us and, after about 45 minutes of being trapped, the firefighters managed to prise open the doors and we were able to take Melissa, Paul and their new bouncing baby girl to hospital.”
Emergency care assistant (ECA) Nigel Goodman, who was part of the ambulance crew trapped in the lift, said: “When it was all over, I remember saying to Melissa and Paul that they should call her Ella, short for elevator and they have!”
Ella was born weighing 6lb 1oz and, in tribute to the paramedics, her parents have decided to give her the middle name Nicola, after Ms Wildman.
Ms Cavanagh, of Reservoir Road, Rowley Regis, said: “Neither of us like lifts at the best of times so when it got stuck we panicked.
“The ambulance staff were really great they kept me calm and helped me through it. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
Ms Wildman said: “It was a team effort.”