A "hero" 999 call handler has been introduced to the baby girl he helped deliver over the phone.

Dean, a London Ambulance Service emergency medical dispatcher, took a call last July when Chloe from Surbiton went into labour earlier than expected.

He talked dad Dominic through the steps to deliver his daughter Jemima safely at home.

Dominic said: “It really could have been any of the staff that night, but we were so lucky it was Dean. He was our midwife and we will be forever grateful.”

The couple, with now ten-month-old Jemima, met Dean at LAS's Waterloo headquarters.

Chloe told him: "It's so lovely to meet you and say 'thank you', because it isn't something that happens every day; it's not every day you can meet your hero."

The family, who gave Jemima the middle name Edna - an anagram of Dean - also presented him with a stork pin badge, which is given to control room staff who help deliver babies over the phone before ambulance crews arrive.

Dean, who was worked in the control room for four years, said: "I remember the call and realising that things had to happen quickly - we had to act fast. The control room went really quiet; it doesn’t feel like calls like this happen a lot.

“It’s an unbelievable honour to meet such a wonderful family, and isn’t something that happens every day. I feel truly inspired and they will inspire me in everything I do here.”