Refuse collector uses first aid skills to save toddler’s life
A refuse worker from Stockport has been hailed a local hero after he used his first aid skills to save the life of a choking toddler.
Dave Hammond, 54, had undergone first aid training as part of a previous job, but found these skills very useful when a woman rushed outside with her choking son whilst he was working.
Hammond rushed to help Rachel Fitton and her one-year-old son Calvin, who was choking on some food and had turned an alarming shade of blue. He had reportedly stopped breathing. Mr Hammond described what happened in the Manchester Evening News, saying:
“I saw a woman come out and she was screaming like a banshee with a baby in her arms. I got hold of him and gave him a couple of slaps and a hash brown came out. He has been lifeless but then he started screaming and I knew he must have been all right.”
“I was worried, you’re going to be if someone hands a baby to you that’s changing colour. I wouldn’t like to have to do that every day while I’m out on the bin rounds, but I’m glad I was in the right place at the right time.”
The relieved parents of the boy thanked Mr Hammond for his life-saving actions, saying that he acted like a “real hero” whilst everyone else was panicking.