‘Somehow we’re still here’: one parent’s shocking story of survival

Faced with danger, we act without thinking, as Nicola Kelly found when a day out with her family almost ended in disaster

We were running late that day. Three months into parenthood and time seemed to be perpetually against us - a constant battle against the clock to get the baby fed, changed and out the door.

It was the first Saturday afternoon since the pubs had reopened in England and we were meeting friends for lunch. The streets around southeast London were teeming. Wobbly tables spilled out on to the pavement, trays packed with pints, friends hugging, reunited after too long apart.