TWO police officers have been praised after they drove a pregnant woman through a treacherous blizzard to hospital to give birth.

Izabella Thompson, 19, went into labour at her home in Bacup during the snowstorm on January 25, which brought East Lancashire to a standstill.

But as she was being taken to Rossendale Birth Centre in Rawtenstall by her grandma and auntie, the conditions became too dangerous so they stopped at Waterfoot Police Station for help.

PCs Paul Heys and Neil Hayhurst, who were just starting their nightshift, put Miss Thompson in their 4x4 and ploughed through the snow to Burnley General Hospital with their flashing lights and siren on.

She gave birth to little Theo Matthew Thompson, who weighed in at 8lb 6oz at 3.08am, the following morning.

Miss Thompson, 19, who lives with her grandparents Mary and Doug in Earnshaw Road, Bacup, praised police for coming to her rescue.

She said: “I went into labour at 7pm and left the house at about 9.30pm.

“It was just ridiculous on the roads and there were cars abandoned so we just thought if we could make it to the police station they would be able to help us.

“They were more than helpful. If it wasn’t for them, I’m not sure what we would have done.

“I can’t thank them enough.

“It still took about an hour to get from Waterfoot to Burnley but they did a lot to calm me down.

“Without them it would have been so much more stressful.”

The officers said they were just doing their job.

PC Heys, who was driving, said: “It was no big deal for us. Izabella was very calm in the back.

“Our vehicle was probably the only way she could get there.”

Miss Thompson, who works at Bargain Cellar in Waterfoot, was accompanied on her journey by her grandmother, Mary, and her auntie, Kay Thompson-Cropper.

Mrs Thompson, 69, said: “I’m not over it yet.

“I’ve had three children and four grandchildren and now a great-grandson.

“I’ve never been so traumatised and frightened.”

She paid tribute to the police and hospital staff who had helped her Izabella during her labour.

She said: “The police and all the midwives were absolutely wonderful.”

The family hope to have Theo baptised at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Bacup on March 31.

It will be a double celebration because it is also the 51st wedding anniversary of his great-grandparents.