Her placenta, the organ that supplies oxygen and nutrients to the baby, had started to separate from her womb, endangering her life and that of her unborn baby.

Fortunately, the Princess Royal Hospital's consultant-led maternity unit was a short journey from her home in Lower Station Road, Newick. Danielle's husband Marcel rushed her to hospital and within minutes she was wheeled down to theatre for an emergency caesarean.

Danielle said: "I woke up in the middle of the night and thought my waters had broken. I went to the bathroom and switched on the light and blood was pouring out of me. We just got into the car and went. The doctors and midwives at the hospital were marvellous and saved my life and my baby's.

"If I had been forced to travel to either Brighton or Redhill we might not have made it. It is so important to keep the consultant-led unit open at the Princess Royal for people like me who face a life-threatening emergency."

Kristian, who came into the world in such a dramatic way on April 28, is now a bonny baby and doing well.

Danielle's Newick GP Doctor Herry Ashby, a leading figure in the campaign to keep vital services open at the Princess Royal, said: "Placenta abruption is certainly a life-threatening emergency for mother and baby.

"There is no doubt about it. If Danielle had gone further afield the outcome might have been very different."

West Sussex Primary Care Trust wants to centralise maternity services for the county in either Worthing or Chichester, which could lead to the closure of the Princess Royal's unit – the nearest one for villagers in Newick and Chailey just over the border in East Sussex.

The Princess Royal's chief executive, Duncan Selbie, has said if the number of births rises from its current rate of 2,400 per year to around 4,000 he will consider keeping the unit open. The unit is safe for the next two to three years when a final decision on its future will be made.