A rugby fan has been celebrating after his wife gave birth to a baby boy - even though it happened at the headquarters of his team's sporting rivals.

The unscheduled fixture began when David Baker was following the ambulance rushing wife Alison to the maternity unit at Colchester General Hospital.

Midwife Sylvia Coles, who was travelling with Mrs Baker, called out to the driver to stop as the baby was coming.

The paramedic quickly hunted for a safe place to stop and found himself in the grounds of Colchester Rugby Club in Mill Road.

Mrs Baker, 31, of Green Lane, Colchester, gave birth in a matter of minutes to the couple's second son, Archie, who weighed in at 9lbs 6ozs.

Mr Baker, 37, has been a lifelong member of rival club Harwich and the two sides clash regularly on the pitch.

A former prop forward, he hasn't played since injury forced him out of the game. But he still regularly cheers on his club.

He added: "Although Archie was born at the Colchester club, I am sure he will be a Harwich supporter when he grows up."

Alison, of Green Lane, Colchester, had wanted her baby to be born at the Dovercourt maternity unit.

David, 37, said: "I grew up in Dovercourt and we like the maternity unit and the midwives there."

Their first son, Max, now three, was to have been born at Dovercourt but Alison had to be moved to Colchester.

When similar complications arose, it was again decided to transfer her to Colchester. David said: "I was following in my car and we were less than a mile from the hospital when the ambulance suddenly stopped. I screeched to a halt too and the crew told me the baby was coming.

"In all the excitement, I didn't notice at first that we were in the grounds of Colchester Rugby Club."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.