An expectant County Durham mum on her way to the hospital had to make an emergency stop at Lidl to give birth to her baby girl.
Natasha Thomson, 33, stunned shoppers on Thursday, May 21 after baby Holly decided she couldn't wait until they arrived at the University Hospital of North Tees.
Instead, Natasha and proud dad Marc Voyzey, 31, had to deliver their daughter in the front seat of their car as paramedics rushed to the scene.
The parents pulled over at Lidl, off Essington Way in Peterlee, just after 7am and just 11 minutes later Holly Jasmine had arrived.
Natasha said: "It's definitely a good story to tell her when she's older.
"It all happened so fast, it was a bit of a shock, we didn't expect it to happen this way."
The mum, from Horden, woke up that morning with strong contractions and knew Holly was going to make her arrival five days early.
She said: "I said to my partner lets go to bed because I was getting contractions but they weren't very strong, then I woke up in the morning and I just said 'we need to go'.
The couple were on their way to the hospital but, little Holly couldn't wait that long, and they had to pull over at the next safest place - Lidl.
Marc had originally planned to drive to the North East Ambulance Service’s base for help but he was told to pull over by the 999 operators so paramedics could get to them.
Natasha said: "I just turned to Marc and said 'the baby is coming'. We pulled over in the car park, put our hazards on and next thing we know she's here.
"They were people looking through the window because I obviously wasn't being quiet because I was in labour.
"I was very proud of Marc, I expected him to panic in that situation but he was just amazing."
The ambulance came and the family eventually made it to the hospital where everyone was checked over.
Holly's rather unexpected arrival drew quite a bit of attention from passers-by with one who witnessed the amazing scene posting on Facebook to pass on their congratulations.
Nearby residents to Lidl said they heard a commotion and saw an ambulance outside but were elated after discovering the reason behind it.
The Facebook post has had more than 1,000 likes with hundreds of comments from people passing on their congratulations and best wishes to the family, with one person asking: "Are Lidl doing deliveries now?"
Natasha said: "We just didn't expect that at all. I was getting messages saying I was Facebook famous.
"I saw the post and couldn't believe all the comments. It was really lovely."
Now mum, dad, and older siblings Lucas, 7, and twoy-year-old Charlotte are enjoying their time at home with their new addition, calling Holly a "dream."
Natasha added: "She's a little night owl, she's keeping us up but she's a dream, she's lovely."
