Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

How one Dundee dad made a special Christmas delivery in a layby

Holly Faith Slessor who was delivered by her father, Stuart Slessor in a layby on the outskirts of Blairgowrie
Holly Faith Slessor who was delivered by her father, Stuart Slessor in a layby on the outskirts of Blairgowrie

A Dundee dad has revealed how he sprung into action to deliver his baby daughter by the roadside – before blocking the umbilical cord with his own shoelaces.

Stuart Slessor, 31, had only just returned to his Blairgowrie home with wife Caroline, 32, when she told him she could feel the baby coming.

The couple barely made it to the end of the road before Stuart was forced to leap from the driver’s seat and deliver their daughter by the roadside.

Holly Faith Slessor was born 6lb 15oz at around 2.35am – making her the first Christmas baby born anywhere in Tayside.

But when a 999 operator told them she could not hear the distinctive cry of a newborn, Stuart was again forced to act as fears grew about the baby’s breathing.

With no sharp objects in the car and no other options available, the call handler told Stuart to remove his shoelaces and tie them tightly around the umbilical cord.

Arek with baby Mireia (left) & Callum and Deanna with their son Cal

“As soon as I tied it, she started crying,” Stuart said.

“We could hear her breathing but the operator was worried and said we had to cut it straight away, so it was a real relief.

“The ambulance came about 25 minutes later but honestly, it felt like forever – it’s certainly a Christmas we’ll never forget.”

The couple now plan to recuperate at home with their 15-month-old son, Aaron, and said they are looking forward to introducing him to his new sister.

Meanwhile, one little boy was so excited to share a Christmas Day birthday with his aunt Victoria, he decided to arrive more than a week early.

The Ninewells Labour Suite team on duty this Christmas – l to r – midwife Bethany Taylor, Dr Owen McDonald (foundation doctor), senior midwife Chrissy Hastings and midwife Shanna Clark

Cal Lamont Beaton was born at 10.37am at Ninewells Hospital, weighing 6lb 13oz.

Mum Deanna, 22, and dad Callum, 19, both from Dundee, said they were “absolutely delighted”.

Another Dundee couple, Arek Dziurzynski and wife Maria, who are originally from Poland, welcomed baby Mireia at 10.18am.

The name, which has Catalan origins, means ‘to admire’.

One of the first babies to be born at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy after midnight was a little boy to parents Stacey MacMillan and Jed Edgar, both 27, from Cowdenbeath.

The couple have yet to pick a name for their bundle of joy, who was born four weeks early at 2.22am on Christmas Day, weighing 5lb 14oz.

Another early arrival was for Arbroath couple Craig Phillip and Brooke Mollison at Arbroath community maternity unit.

At 12.18pm, the couple’s first child, Tilly, arrived, weighing in at exactly 6lb – having been due on January 18.