The Sunderland man who delivered his own child in the deep mid winter

We asked you for your memories of storm Sunderland winters.
Margaret pictured as a baby.Margaret pictured as a baby.
Margaret pictured as a baby.

But one couple had an extra special reason to remember the year the snow played havoc - with a new arrival in the family.

Chris Cordner reports.

Terry with twins Margaret and Paul.Terry with twins Margaret and Paul.
Terry with twins Margaret and Paul.

It was a typical winter’s night in 1965. The snow lay six inches deep.

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And Sunderland couple Terry and Nora Hutchinson will never forget it.

It was the night when Terry, now 83, had to deliver his own daughter Margaret because the midwife’s car had been stuck in the Silksworth drifts.

She came into the world at around 3am weighing 8lb but the drama was not over.

Baby Paul in an early photograph.Baby Paul in an early photograph.
Baby Paul in an early photograph.

When the midwife walked miles through the snow and reached the house, Terry went to the door to let her in.

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And when they both went back upstairs to see if Nora was okay, she was in labour again.

It was a complete shock to everyone involved as Nora had no idea she was expecting twins.

But Paul came into the world half an hour after his twin sister, weighing 6lb 7ozs.

Terry and Nora Hutchinson whose twins were born in the 1965 blizzards.Terry and Nora Hutchinson whose twins were born in the 1965 blizzards.
Terry and Nora Hutchinson whose twins were born in the 1965 blizzards.

Terry re-lived the story of a stormy winter’s night when he went from a dad-of-two to a dad-of-four in half an hour.

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“We had no phones in the houses in those days and when Nora went into labour, I had to run to the nearest phone box.

“The midwife said she was on the way but Margaret decided she was going to be born at around 3am, and I had to deliver her.”

Margaret and Paul became siblings for the couple’s other children Gail and Gary who were eight and seven at the time.

Terry with twins Margaret and Paul.Terry with twins Margaret and Paul.
Terry with twins Margaret and Paul.

But only one new arrival had been expected and Terry, a farmer by trade, said: “We had only catered for one child being on the way.”

It meant the family faced extra shopping trips to double up on nappies and baby clothing.