A RAIL worker from the Borders delivered his baby daughter in the family’s sitting room.

Garry Kennan from Coldstream was guided through the birth by a Scottish Ambulance Service call taker.

Mum Vanessa was 40 weeks pregnant and a home birth had been scheduled for the new arrival.

As signs showed the birth was imminent on Tuesday, July 30 the couple’s other kids, Callum, 10, Charlotte, nine, and Caitlyn, five were dropped off at a relative’s house.

And they were waiting anxiously for a midwife to arrive when baby Faith decided to make an appearance.

Garry, a conductor team manager for ScotRail, today praised the Scottish Ambulance Service.

He said: “Things progressed very quickly and she went into labour before any healthcare professionals arrived.

“I was told by Borders General Hospital that a midwife was on the way.”

The emergency call from Garry was made at 3.42pm, taken by Marianne McKeown.

He added: “The call taker I spoke to was fantastic.

"She kept me calm when I was darting about like a headless chicken and talked me through everything. I would have panicked otherwise.”

Garry lay his wife down and provided cushions following the call talker’s instructions.

Five minutes after the 999 call was made, Faith was delivered safely, weighing nine pounds, seven ounces.

An ambulance crew manned by Lesley Lee and Ruth Hutton was also dispatched to the scene.

Garry added: “I genuinely don't think I could have done it without the guidance from the operator I spoke to.

“The two paramedics who arrived were really good as well.

"They didn’t need to do anything, but they made sure she did not need to go to hospital.”