VANCOUVER — Steve and Heather Boey have always felt safe in their Vancouver-area home, having an RCMP officer living nearby.

But they didn't realize what a great neighbour they had until the officer helped deliver their baby boy -- inside their Maple Ridge home.

Const. Steph Rogers, 38, came to the rescue Nov. 12, hours after the Boeys returned home from the hospital, certain their baby wasn't coming that night.

Heather Boey had been induced earlier that day, but she was told not to expect the baby's arrival until the next day.

At around 10:30 p.m., while in the bath, the 27-year-old woman felt the baby pushing.

Her husband called their midwife, who then called for paramedics.

Steve Boey's next call was to Rogers, who the couple had come to know well since moving into the neighbourhood two years earlier.

"It doesn't hurt that she is the mother of four, and it definitely doesn't hurt that she has RCMP training," Steve Boey, 36, said in an interview Saturday.

"I was really happy when she picked up the phone."

Rogers said she thought the late-night call was news confirming the baby's birth.

Instead, it was a call for help.

"I booked it around the block," Rogers said.

When she arrived, Steve Boey was on the phone with the paramedics, who were still about 15 minutes away.

"We knew that it was going to be our show," Rogers said.

"It was obvious to us that there was no chance there were going to make it on time," Steve Boey added.

When the baby came out, his amniotic sack had yet to be broken and the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck.

Instinct kicked in and both the officer and husband helped ensure the delivery went smoothly, just in time for the ambulance to arrive.

Nathan Boey was born just after 11 p.m., weighing six pounds, 15 ounces.

"It was pretty terrifying, but having Steph there helped bring it down a level," said Heather Boey.

The Boeys also have a 22-month-old daughter, Aurelia.

The neighbours say they were friends before, but now have a bond for life.