Waterlooville deliveryman lives up to job title after helping screaming woman give birth at Portsmouth home

Perry Ryan got more than he bargained for when carrying out his deliveries in Portsea for Hermes after suddenly hearing an ‘awful noise’ that ‘sounded like someone was being murdered’ earlier this month at Cardigan House, Kent Street.

The 29-year-old, who had ‘no idea what he was doing’, was left ‘shaking’ after suddenly finding himself orchestrating proceedings as the woman, who could not speak much English, was stranded with her legs by the front door as the baby started to push out.

Perry, of Waterlooville said: ‘I heard a lot of screaming and was not sure what was going on. I thought someone was getting murdered at first.

‘She couldn’t speak very good English but then I heard her say “baby, baby, baby”. I then realised what was happening and shouted through the letterbox and called 999. I was trying to keep her calm and reassure her.’

After a few minutes the woman’s shell-shocked partner arrived at the flat and opened the door with the mum-to-be in the final throes of labour.

Schar Shoker had popped out to the shops and then hurried home after his wife Bakhan phoned him to say her waters had broken.

The 31-year-old, who moved to England from Iraq in 2006, said: ‘I was nearly 15 minutes on the phone to the hospital – they said, ‘go home and bring her to the hospital’.

‘When I got home, I recognised (Perry) – he usually delivers quite a lot of stuff from Ebay and Amazon to us,’ he said.

Schar quickly realised his wife needed an ambulance to take her to hospital and a trained operator to guide the labour over the phone – and quick-thinking Perry was already on the case.

Schar said: ‘I couldn’t help (Bakhan) and call an ambulance at the same time.

‘Perry was very helpful – what he did was so good.’

Bakhan added: ‘(Perry) called 999 and spoke to the operator. He did such a good thing and I really appreciate it.

‘He couldn’t come in because the door was locked but it was good for me to know someone was behind the door. It was very helpful for me. It was good timing for him to be there.’

Perry, keeping his calm, relayed instructions from the 999 operator on what to do after Schar turned up.

‘He turned up and didn’t know what he was doing either,’ Perry said. ‘He was more shocked than me.

‘He didn’t speak very good English either but I started directing him what to do from the instructions I was being given on the phone – whilst trying to respect her privacy.

‘The mum’s legs were close to the door and I could start to see the baby before the dad pulled her out.’

Perry, a footballer at Pompey until he was 19 who also played for Havant and Waterlooville, passed on directions to ensure the baby’s airways were cleared, the infant was warmed with a towel and had skin-to-skin contact with the mum.

‘The baby was crying which I was told was good news,’ Perry said. ‘The dad was about to pull the umbilical cord so I told him not to touch it.

‘He was amazing though. But it was a good job I was there otherwise he might have struggled on his own. The midwife on the phone was brilliant too. I think they found it funny.

‘I still don’t know if it was a boy or a girl, it all happened so quickly. I’m just glad the baby was in good health.’

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Paramedics arrived and took over before Perry carried on with his deliveries – having just helped deliver a baby.

‘I was shaking – it was mad what happened,’ he said. ‘I had to sit down for five minutes after it all. I was in shock. I missed some of my delivery slots.

‘I don’t know what would have happened if things had started to go wrong. Neither of us had a clue what we were doing.’

He added: ‘I didn’t expect that when I turned up to work. Crazy.’

Baby Bella was born at full-term and was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital with Bakhan and Schar.

And the proud dad hasn’t forgotten Perry’s help, saying: ‘We have said thank you and we want to get him a gift after we find out what he would like.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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