Ref. 14902/1CHIPPENHAM NEWS: FRIENDS fan Sarah Nolan had her own drama when she gave birth to a baby girl on her bathroom floor.

The 33-year-old Chippenham mum delivered little Courtney, named after Courteney Cox Arquette who stars in the American sitcom, herself in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Husband Mark missed the birth because he was frantically dialling 999 for an ambulance, but made sure mum and baby were safe and comfortable before the emergency services arrived.

Mrs Nolan, who spent more than 15 hours in labour for both her first two children, Connor, six, and Cameron, three, said she was not expecting such a rapid delivery last weekend.

She said: "By the time he (Mark) came back she was out."

"When I saw she was coming adrenaline kicked in and I grabbed her towards me before she hit the bathroom floor."

Mrs Nolan's contractions started at 12.30am at the couple's home in Park Avenue. Her husband got out of bed and the pair took their time getting ready to go to the Royal United Hospital, Bath.

But at 1.40pm the pain got to the mother-of-three and she started screaming.

Just 10 minutes later baby Courtney appeared, moments before the ambulance crew arrived at the house.

"It was like something out of a comedy show Ricky Gervais could not have come up with something like this," said Mr Nolan, a chef at the Lord Nelson Inn in Marshfield.

"It was quite scary at the time but funny when you look back at it."

Mr Nolan's sister, Karen Wainwright, of Upper Wraxall, hurried to the house to look after the couple's two boys while their parents were at Chippenham Hospital.

"She arrived expecting to look after the two boys so was shocked to see her new niece there too," said Mr Nolan.

"She did a great job of clearing up the bathroom and both sets of grandparents came down on Sunday morning."

Mother and baby were back home within hours of the hospital check-up.

A relieved Mr Nolan said the only downside to the weekend was not being able to catch up with his favourite American sitcom.

"I normally catch-up with Friends on a Sunday but we missed it because we both needed to go to bed because of exhaustion," he said.

"We won't be having any more children. We were pleased we had a daughter it was a secret wish for the both of us.

"It is the icing on the cake and finishes our family off we now have a little girl who the two boys can look after."