A baby has been born on a c2c train station platform at Purfleet.

Dorothy Igniboza, 36, was at Purfleet Rail station yesterday afternoon when her baby made a surprise entrance a day before she was expected.

Two passengers guided baby Esther safely into the world with the help of a 999 phone-operative, along with “brilliant” c2c train staff.

No-one present had medical training, but baby Esther arrived and was wrapped in a jacket after a super-quick 18-minute birth.

Father Fred, 40, said he "cried tears of joy" when he rushed back from hailing a taxi to see his wife and baby in the arms of strangers on the floor of the ticket office.

Mr Igniboza, a security officer who lives at Bonchurch Court with wife Dorothy, said: “It’s a miracle – this is the first time I have seen a baby delivered in a train station.”

The proud dad-of-two said: “We had been at the hospital earlier that day for a blood test and come back home. We were not expecting the baby until today so both of us were surprised when the waters broke at home, whilst my wife was cooking.

“I was a bit nervous and called the ambulance but they said they could not bring her now. I said it will be too late – there were no medical facilities around, and I could see my wife was on her way.

"I told my wife I was going to call a taxi but none were coming, so I said to my wife, let’s take the train.

“We went to the station and I was looking for a taxi and my wife sat inside the office. I was so scared.

“By the time I got a taxi the baby had already arrived! I was like wow! It’s been delivered! It was just a miracle. I was trying to pick up my wife off the floor, I was crying tears of joy. Nothing like that has happened before in my life.

“I just thank the c2c service and the passengers who behaved like a medical service. The ladies were not professionals but they behaved like it. In my heart I can’t compare how much they mean to me. It’s so amazing - it’s like something in a movie.

"The two ladies did a marvellous job – I cannot thank them enough.”

Passenger Jenny Hay, who helped deliver the baby said it all happened "very quickly."

She said: “I was waiting for my train at 16.03pm when I saw this lady was in pain so I offered to help. It was clear the baby was on its way. There was no way she was going to get into a taxi.”

Ms Hay, of Northfields, Ealing, said: “A 999 lady was on the phone talking me through it – and I guided the baby out. I saw the head was coming so I had to hold onto it so it didn’t fall on the floor. I was hoping the ambulance would come.”

Fellow passenger Maria Kachalla supported Dorothy’s head, with Mrs Hay guiding the baby.

She said: “The 999 lady was saying now wrap the baby in a blanket. I thought I didn’t have one so I wrapped her in my jacket. All we had was a blue paper roll for the towels – that was all we had.

“It was such a weird thing, the baby was born at 3.18pm, then the ambulance came about 5 to 10 minutes later. It must have been about 18 minutes. It was all very quick.

“I thought, my goodness, now I have got to get on a train!”

Ms Hay, who works in TV production and lives in Ealing, was only in Purfleet for her third-ever visit to a storage facility.

She added: “We both felt quite shocked afterwards – it was all a bit like a dream - but obviously we had to support her. The poor woman, I’m sure having a baby on a horrible ticket office floor was the last place she would have wanted to have a baby. I was only too pleased to help and thankfully the baby was delivered ok.”

A spokesman for Basildon Hospital said mum Dorothy and baby Esther were “doing fine.”