Andrea Dunn from North Tawton went into labour during the snow storm which hit the area on Thursday night.

It was a surprise — she was due to have her twins at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in March.

But there was more drama to come — an ambulance crew failed to reach Andrea after weather conditions worsened. A Sea King helicopter was sent from RAF Chivenor but the severe weather meant it had to turn around.

The only vehicle able to plough through the thick blanket of snow was a fire engine from North Tawton.

And after a 40-minute journey they made it to Okehampton Hospital just in time.

Andrea was surprised when the fire brigade turned up: 'They gave me the option and said it was up to me, I could stay put or go to Okehampton Hospital in the fire engine.'

She said the thought of going to Okehampton was comforting: 'The journey was fine and our sprits were really high. The whole crew made me feel very comfortable and relaxed by their light-hearted conversation.'

Andrea expressed thanks to the emergency services and all the staff at Okehampton and North Devon District hospitals: 'All the services behaved in a professional and fantastic manner.

'I am just so grateful to everybody involved. I really believe that if everyone hadn't have been so calming, professional and friendly, I wouldn't have been so relaxed and that might have made delivering more difficult.

'If Okehampton Hospital hadn't been there, I would never have got anywhere. My contractions went from a five-minute gap to a two-minute gap in an hour.'

Andrea gave birth to healthy baby girls, Elizabeth Erin, 4lb 9 oz, was born at 4.19am and Stephanie Susie, 4lb 15oz, at 5.25am.

She was then taken to the NDDH at Barnstaple via an RAF helicopter. She said: 'We travelled in a 4x4 St John ambulance from Okehampton Hospital to Simmons Park.

'When we got there we were told the helicopter was actually waiting for us at Hatherleigh Cricket Club, so we ended up going to Hatherleigh and then on to Barnstaple.'

Proud husband Will Dunn, of Dunn Bros Dairy, said: 'Andrea wasn't due until Tuesday March 3rd and there had been no indication at all that she was about to give birth.

'I'd looked at the weather forecast on Thursday as I was worried about getting the dairy vans out in the morning, not my wife giving birth!'

Watch Commander of the fire crew Twiggy Lake said: 'We had a call at about 11.30pm to say an ambulance couldn't attend and that the lady was into about 20 to 25-minute contractions.'

'We knew we'd have to get her to Okehampton Hospital as quickly as possible.'

Mr Lake said the fire crew were ready for a delivery: 'We decided to strip the fire engine of equipment to make it more comfortable and then we got Mrs Dunn on board.

'She dealt with the whole episode really well and she remained very calm.

'We were all having a banter about what the babies would be called — Snow White was one name that cropped up!'

Mr Lake said the crew were ready to deliver the babies in the fire engine: 'We had four men on board, some who had children, so we had a bit of experience.'

Four midwives and a charge nurse were on hand to help with the delivery at Okehampton Hospital.

Midwife Anne Gibson, who had been snowed in at the hospital all night, said: 'I have to say the fire crew were fantastic. They looked after Mrs Dunn extremely well and made sure she was safe and comfortable.

'When she arrived, she was very calm and seemed quite happy'.

Mrs Gibson said the hospital was not used to delivering twins: 'We don't deliver babies under 37 weeks here, let alone twins as they need consultant care.

'But our midwives were here and we all rallied together and did what we had to do.'

The fire crew also had to bed down at the hospital for the night after the severe weather worsened.

Charge nurse Mark Horsley said: 'The crew were great and all in good spirits, we looked after them well.

'They cleaned us out of all our food but they definitely needed all the energy they could get!'

It was a busy night for the hospital, who delivered three babies in the same evening, with one lady arriving from Hatherleigh. Midwife Beth Pengelly said: 'I actually ended up going to Hatherleigh to one lady who was in labour.

'I went in the back of an old 4x4 LandRover, which got us safely back to the hospital to deliver.'

Andrea and twins are now home in North Tawton and doing well: 'We are all fine and just glad to be home. I am a bit anaemic but other than that we are well,' she said.

Andrea, who also has a two and a half year old son, Mathew, added: 'When I was in the fire engine, the crew gave me a toy teddy bear to hold.

'It was really lovely because later, when I was in Barnstaple, my husband came in with it and said they had told him it was a gift.'