TAXI driver Dorothy McVey found herself with an extra passenger halfway through a journey - when an expectant mother gave birth.

Michelle Dawson, 27, decided to take a taxi to hospital when she realised she was going into labour.

But baby Bobbi could not wait and came into the world on the back seat of 61-year-old Dorothy's black cab.

Michelle, of South Shields, South Tyneside, expected to arrive at South Tyneside General Hospital with time to spare.

The mother, who also has a daughter Lauren, five, said: "By the time the taxi arrived the contractions were coming all the time, and I was needing to push.

"But, by that time it was the morning rush-hour, and the car got stuck in the traffic.

"As we started to get towards the hospital the baby's head was coming out. I was desperate to get there before she arrived, but we just didn't make it."

Mother-of-three Dorothy said: "The woman's partner seemed stunned. He couldn't find any money and asked if he could pay later. I told him that this one was on me."