YORK family doctor Aaron Brown almost had to do-it-himself when a routine trip to B&Q resulted in his fiancée’s waters breaking.

Aaron, 30, and Ellie Skingle, 24, were choosing shelves at the York store as they looked to get their home in Wilberfoss ready for the baby’s arrival.

That proved little Arthur’s cue - and he was born a day later at York Hospital.

“Ellie and I had been discussing the lack of movement on the baby front and decided there and then that with baby already being overdue, we might as well get on with some jobs we needed to do before the chaos of a newborn arrived,” said Aaron, who is a GP at Clifton Medical Practice.

“We got into the car and headed off to our local B&Q and once there started looking for the shelves we wanted. What started out as a pretty uneventful day changed as Ellie turned to me halfway through the aisle and said: ‘Oh no, I think something’s happened’.

"I immediately replied ‘What, are you all right?’ She said: ‘I think my waters have broken’. We then both realised they definitely had, right there in the store. My immediate concern was to ensure she was okay and safe and to escort her to the tills, where we promptly paid for the shelves and made a dash to the car.

“She was being very British about it all, not uttering a word and quickly leaving the store.

“We then went straight over to the hospital where, after a fairly tricky labour, our baby boy, Arthur, was finally born the next day”.

Ellie, an administrator at My Health in Strensall, received a £250 gift card courtesy of B&Q’s Baby Bonus scheme, which rewards any expectant mother who goes into labour while in a store or car park. Arthur was given a baby-sized B&Q apron.

She said: “It was such a shock, we’ve heard about these sorts of things before, but you never believe they might actually happen to you.”