Senior Constable Nathan Cashion and Leading Senior Constable Brad Brabham witnessed a vehicle speeding between Tyrendarra and Codrington.

“It was a normal shift,” Senior Constable Cashion said.

“We headed towards Yambuk and on the way back from Yambuk towards Portland we intercepted a vehicle.

“The driver stated the lady on board was in labour.”

The driver was a friend of the woman in labour.

“We went and had a look and before we knew it we were down on the roadside.”

Senior Constable Cashion said the driver and other family members in the vehicle were not panicking.

“He was a lot calmer than I would have been,” he said.

Senior Constable Cashion, a father, delivered the baby.

He said the baby was born 15 to 20 minutes after the vehicle was intercepted.

Surprisingly, he said the woman was “very quiet”.

“She was very quiet – I think she was pretty concerned about getting to Warrnambool but she was well under way – she delivered the baby on a blanket on the side of the road in the grass.”

After the woman gave birth, Senior Constable Cashion checked the baby boy was breathing and placed him on his mother’s chest.

Senior Constable Cashion said he was pretty overwhelmed by the experience.

He said delivering babies was not part of training for police officers, but preserving life was.

“That’s the beauty of our job – we don’t know what we’re going to be faced with hour to hour.”

Senior Constable Cashion said the experience had been the most unique in his four years on the job.

The baby boy was born about 9pm and an ambulance arrived about 10 minutes later to take the mother and baby to Warrnambool Base Hospital.

EARLIER

TWO Portland policemen went from officers to midwives to ambulance drivers in short time on Wednesday night after intercepting a car for speeding at Tyrendarra.

The Portland Highway Patrol Unit members intercepted the car on the Princes Highway at 8.40pm not knowing that the driver was transporting an expectant mother from Portland to the Warrnambool Base Hospital.

While speaking to the driver it became very evident to the members that the woman was in labour.

An ambulance was called but the baby boy did not delay his arrival, despite the members hopes for a speedy ambulance response.

He was born at 9pm with the assistance of the two senior constables.

A paramedic arrived shortly after the birth and attended to the woman and baby before they were taken to the Warrnambool hospital with one of the police members driving the ambulance.