A BABY boy was safely delivered thanks to the quick work of a traffic officer who saw a woman going into labour during rush hour traffic.

Roads Policing officer PC Matthew Turner was on duty on July 11 in South Woodham Ferrers when a driver flagged him down.

Father James was driving his wife Sarah who was in labour to the hospital during the morning rush hour.

They were stuck in traffic when they saw Matthew on his police motorbike filtering through the traffic and called him over to help.

Matthew’s experience as a traffic officer kicked into action and he started to escort the car through the traffic towards Broomfield Hospital.

He phoned ahead to the maternity ward to ensure that the staff were ready to help Sarah as they arrived.

They arrived at the hospital in time and William was safely delivered and weighing 8lb.

PC Matthew Turner said: “I’m just glad I was able to help.

“We deal with such a variety of incidents as police officers some of them rather sad, so it’s great to be able to help this family in their time of need.

“This certainly will be a story for William’s parents to tell him when he’s older.”

Both mother and baby are doing well.

James, the new father, said: “We can’t thank Matthew enough for his help.

“Without his quick-thinking actions we’d have been stuck in the traffic for a while and would have needed to call an ambulance.

“I think officers are underpraised for their good deeds and these few words aren’t enough of a thank you to Matthew for his help.”