IT was a case of so near, yet so far.

Caroline Meech made it to hospital in time to give birth – just.

But it was a close run thing and Caroline ended up delivering her new daughter in the public foyer – in the full view of CCTV cameras.

That each push to deliver the baby made the unit’s automatic doors open on a chilly winter night only added to the unique nature of the birth.

Caroline and husband Mike had raced up to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester. She rushed across the car park, pressed the bell, staggered through the doors before collapsing in the foyer.

Ten minutes later, at 1.45am, she had given birth to Alice Harriet, who weighed in at 8lb 3oz.

Caroline, 32, said: “I knew the baby was coming so I told Mike to take me to hospital. My waters broke in Hursley and I saw her head coming down, so I said ‘drive faster!’ “We screamed into the car park, managed to find a space. I was worried about leaving the car doors open.

“I pressed the buzzer and just made it through the double doors. The midwives came running down. They tried to persuade me to get in a wheelchair.

But there was no way I could move.

“They asked me to move forward because every time I pushed, the automatic door opened. It was a comedy situation.

“Mike was brilliant. I was biting his thumb. He didn’t seem to mind. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

Mike, 34, who works for IBM, said: “When I saw the baby’s head I said ‘you’re not having it in the car or car park, hold on’.

Caroline got in and the midwives came down and they were superb.

“It was all very exciting.”

Caroline and Alice are both doing fine at home in Crummock Road, Chandler’s Ford.

Alice is Caroline’s third baby and a sister for Casper, 3, and Gabriella, 2, and a half sister for Aimee, 7, Mike’s daughter from a previous relationship.

Caroline said: “The staff were all brilliant and I really want to thank them all.”

She said she wanted to thank the staff in the foyer: midwives Sue Emery and Liz Collings, and Carole Whitlock, maternity support worker and those in the theatre: Katherine Blackhouse, registrar, Dr Farid Rafik, anaesthetist, Mark Park, operational assistant and Alison Jenvey, maternity support worker.

Janie Pearman, head of midwifery at the Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “It was certainly an unusual delivery, but staff rose to the challenge, and mum and baby are safe and well.”