A MOTHER gave birth in the car park of a hospital which has been at the centre of a campaign to restore its maternity unit.The woman arrived at William Julien Courtauld Hospital in Braintree in the early hours of yesterdaymorning to find the maternity unit closed.

A MOTHER gave birth in the car park of a hospital which has been at the centre of a campaign to restore its maternity unit.

The woman arrived at William Julien Courtauld Hospital in Braintree in the early hours of yesterdaymorning to find the maternity unit closed.

Paramedics arrived within minutes and the baby boy was delivered in the car park within an hour of the original call at 3.23am. The mother and baby are both believed to be doing well.

Campaigner Ann Fullerlast night branded the situation "absolutely disgusting."

Mrs Fuller is one of a number of people who have lobbied for the maternity unit to be opened 24 hours a day.

Currently it is open from Monday to Friday between 9am-5pm following a period of complete closure in October last year due to staff sickness.

The unit only deals with low risk deliveries with all other mothers sent to St Johns Hospital in Chelmsford, which is 15 miles away.

Mrs Fuller said: "I think it is absolutely disgusting that this should happen.

"We are campaigning for the unit to be open 24 hours a day.

"I imagine the midwifes are feeling really bad about this woman because they were not there for her."

Braintree MP Alan Hurstsaid the situation was "disgraceful" and highlighted the need for a proper 24 hour service.

He recently handed over a 1,500-signature petition gathered by the campaigners to Mid Essex Hospitals' Trust, which runs the hospital, demanding services be improved.

A spokesman for the trust said: "At the moment it is too early to say why this happened as the full details of the incident have yet to emerge."

A spokesman for Essex Ambulance Service confirmed that paramedics had delivered a baby at the hospital early yesterday.

She was left in the care of a midwife, who came to assist, at the hospital.