A couple who both work at Whittington Hospital were forced to bring their son in to the world on their living room floor.

Edward Kent, who works as a security guard, delivered his son Miles after his partner Maria Alexiou, a children’s nurse, was unable to get down the stairs of their Finsbury flat.

Mrs Alexious started having contractions but had gone home to collect her things as her previous labours had taken more than eight hours.

But the baby, who was born weighing 7lbs 8oz, had other ideas and wasn’t planning on hanging around.

Mr Kent, who also DJs for patients at the hospital in Magdala Avenue, Archway, arrived home and called the ambulance but after describing his partner’s state was told the crew would not be able to reach them before the baby came.

He was helped every step of the way by a call handler, who had only been working at the London Ambulance Service’s emergency operations centre in Waterloo for three months.

Mr Kent, 40, said: “It was very dramatic, I couldn’t even cry because I had to go into a different mode.

“The bag was packed and the car was ready and she came out on to the landing but she couldn’t get down the stairs – it happened so fast it’s unbelievable.

“The caller said to me ‘you’re going to have to deliver the baby’ and I said: ‘I can’t I’m not a midwife’.

“She was brilliant, she talked me through every step of the way.”

“Five minutes later I was holding the baby.

“With my job I’m in so many dramatic situations and I’ve helped out when people have gone in to labour but this was probably the best moment of my life.

“I can’t wait until he’s old enough so I can tell him about it and he can tell all his friends he was delivered by his dad at home.”

The pair have both worked at Whittington Hospital for over a decade, but have only been together for two years.

Between them they now have nine children aged between four and 22.

Mrs Alexious, 38, said: “I got upstairs to the flat to get my stuff ready and then 10 minutes later I was on the floor pushing the baby out.

“It was horrible but it was over very quickly – my other three labours I had eight hours of contractions.

“Everyone at the hospital thinks its hilarious that we work here but had the baby at home.”