A young woman told she was constipated delivered her baby daughter on a hospital trolley just 20 terrifying seconds after realising she was pregnant.

Esther Hope, 23, put her abdominal cramps and back pain down to a history of severe IBS and was prescribed max-strength laxatives after speaking to a doctor.

But after doubling over in pain she was rushed to hospital to be given an emergency enema.

The shocked healthcare assistant watched as her waters broke - but even then a hospital consultant said it was just her body getting ready to go to the loo.

She was left alone on a trolley in A&E but suddenly got the urge to push - and 20 seconds later her daughter Lily Hope-Moore popped out.

Stunned doctors returned to find her cradling the newborn in her arms.

Lily is now three months old and perfectly healthy - but Miss Hope still cannot believe she is a new mother.

She said: 'I knew it was a baby as soon as I realised it was coming from the wrong place.

'I felt her head and screamed at my dad to get a nurse. Within seconds of him leaving the room I delivered her.

'I couldn't believe she was mine. I didn't know what to do, I was hysterical.

'I was in total shock. Having a baby couldn't have been further from my mind - I'd had the contraceptive injection.

'I just thought I had a "food baby" because of my IBS.'

Miss Hope added: 'I worked 36 hours the week before and went to a wedding where I drank Champagne.

'I even went to Thorpe Park and went on the all the rides. I had no idea.'

Miss Hope, from Chilworth, Surrey, began getting stomach pains in May last year. 

She was given an ultrasound and diagnosed with IBS, an inflamed liver, and prescribed medication by doctors who suggested her diet was to blame.

But over the next few months she started getting back pains and heartburn, and was going to the toilet all the time and had craving Coco Pops.

Miss Hope also gained two stone and jumped from a size 18 to a size 20, but put it all down to her 'illness' and said doctors didn't check she was pregnant.

'They kept saying my symptoms were related to my previous liver problems,' she said.

'I took them at their word and never thought I could be pregnant, not while I was taking precautions.

'My breasts didn't swell and only the upper part of my stomach was hard, the rest of my stomach was normal.'

But at what she didn't realise was 37 weeks into pregnancy, she began suffering bouts of constipation - and was prescribed maximum-strength laxatives.

When the pain worsened, she was rushed to the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford by ambulance for an emergency enema.

Miss Hope claims that while she was in a cubicle in A&E she was seen by a consultant who witnessed her waters breaking.

'He looked down and said I was urinating because my body was getting ready to go to the loo,' she said.

'It didn't look like wee to me, and I started to panic.

'The consultant just gave me the thumbs up and told me not to worry and gave me gas and air for the pain.

'But then my body took over and I felt the urge to push, but not from where I was expecting.

'I looked down and saw a head and almost fainted.'

Lily Hope-Moore was born weighing 7lbs 2oz on November 10 last year and Miss Hope's father Tim, 51, was the first to hold Lily.

Miss Hope, who is no longer dating the baby's father, said: 'I just couldn't bring myself to hold her. It was too surreal to think she was mine.

'I just lay there looking at her thinking how did this happen? How could I not have known?

'Within hours of her being born, my stomach went down. The pain stopped, and so did my urge to go to the loo.

'When I did eventually hold her, I realised she was the most beautiful thing in the world, and I was so lucky to have her.'

Family and friends rallied around to make sure the family had the essential baby items.

'I come from a traditional Christian family, so it was a real shock and difficult to tell my grandparents, but everyone has been brilliant and understanding,' said Miss Hope.

'It's been the best surprise ever.'