Cork girl kept lookout for ambulance during mother's home birth

She needed to look out for the ambulance staff and to let them into her home. File picture.

A young Cork girl is unlikely to forget the birth of her baby sister during the lockdown.

Her mother Emma Hartnett, went into labour a fortnight early and gave birth at home in Ballincollig.

While the family waited for an ambulance, 8-year-old Leah was given a key role after the birth of baby Ali.

She needed to look out for the ambulance staff and to let them into her home.

She said: "Well after she was born I got a bigger job of looking out for the ambulance when it was coming.

"So we live in an apartment so they couldn't get in from the code, so I went down the stairs and opened the gate for them.

Once the paramedics had entered the apartment, Leah Hartnett told them "everything they needed to know about the baby."