Waterlooville deliveryman who lived up to job by helping woman give birth in Portsmouth receives national award from Princess Anne

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

The 29-year-old from Waterlooville, 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 baby Bella started to push out.

As reported, quick-thinking Perry kept his cool after realising what was going on and called 999 while trying to keep the mum calm, before her shell-shocked partner returned home to the manic scenes.

Perry then relayed instructions to the husband before the baby was born safe and well - with him continuing to pass on advice and assist until paramedics arrived and took over.

Following his incredible exploits, Perry recently scooped the Outstanding Service Award at the National Career Awards in London.

He said: ‘To win was really nice but a bit of a surprise. I got an invite to go up after being nominated by my company.

‘I was given a silver plaque and bottle of champagne which I collected when I went up on stage. It was very cool. Hermes won some awards too and we had a nice meal so it was a good night.

‘I also got to meet Princess Anne who I had a chat with. She was really nice and asked about what happened and told me I did a great job.’

Speaking of the birth, Perry said: ‘It was crazy - I still can’t believe it. It is something I will never forget. It’s something I try not to talk about but people mention it a lot to me.

‘I still see the mum every week when I do my deliveries. The baby is growing up very quickly and is healthy which is good.

‘They are brilliant to me and are always happy to see me. The dad is a nice man. We always have a laugh and a chat.’

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Speaking after the incident in July, Perry told The News: ‘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.’

Dad Schar Shoker, who had popped out to the shops and then hurried home after his wife Bakhan phoned him to say her waters had broken, said previously: ‘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.

‘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.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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