Last updated at 12:05, Wednesday, 19 September 2012

An ambulance caught fire when it was taking a woman in labour to hospital.

The 23-year-old woman, from the Maryport area, was being taken to the West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven, to give birth when a fire started in the engine compartment yesterday shortly before 10am.

Paramedics pulled up close to Northside School in Workington on the A596 as soon as they noticed black smoke coming from under the bonnet.

The paramedics fled the smoking vehicle with the woman and a second ambulance arrived shortly afterwards to take her the rest of the way to Whitehaven.

An ambulance service spokeswoman said the fire had come through to the cab but did not affect the treatment area.

She said: “The patient in the back was a woman in labour.

“The crew noticed the smoke coming from under the bonnet and stopped the vehicle.”

She said that no time was lost because a second ambulance had been sent out immediately.

“The woman is fine,” she added.

The vehicle is now back in the workshop and mechanics are looking into the cause of the fault.

A fire engine attended the scene at 9.47am and used one hose reel to put out the fire.

Do you know the woman in the ambulance? Contact the News & Star on 01228 612654, email news.carlisle@cnmedia.co.uk or visit @newsandstar on Twitter.

First published at 11:25, Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk