FOOTBALL COACH SAVES CHOKING MAN

Calls for more people to learn first aid

A football coach helped save the life of a diner who was choking at a carvery in Yaxley.

Simon Roberts rushed to the aid of the man while eating at The Farmers with his girlfriend and daughter on Sunday evening.

The man was slumped on the floor just outside the restaurant and had banged his head before the youth coach began giving him chest compressions which he believes helped dislodge food stuck in his throat.

First responders and ambulance staff then arrived before he was taken to hospital.

The man, who was believed to be in his 60s, was said to have been speaking before being taken away in an ambulance.

Netherton United under 15s coach Simon (48) from Deeping St James was with girlfriend Kelly Scannapieco and daughter Livvi (11) when the incident unfolded.

He said: “The guy was in front of us in the queue.

“When we sat down he got up with his friend and went out holding his throat. My girlfriend said ‘that’s a bit strange’.

“The next thing a female member of staff came running in shouting ‘first aid!’ I was closest to the exit so I said to my missus ‘I will go and help’.

“A friend was trying to hold him up. He was slumped on his knees and fell forward and banged his head.

“He was just motionless. I said to his mate ‘what’s happening?’ He said ‘I think his food is stuck in his throat. He can’t breathe’.

“His face had started going grey. I gave him compressions, and after about a minute he started to gargle and the colour started coming back to his face.

“I was pumping his chest for eight to 10 minutes and maybe I dislodged something.

“A first responder arrived and took over. He was then taken away in an ambulance.”

Simon attributes his actions to the first aid course he had taken while training to be a coach, and the refreshers he has taken since.

He hopes his story will inspire others to learn the same skills in case they come across a similar situation. He added: “I’ve always thought I didn’t know if I would be brave enough to use the training.

“It was quite daunting, but it made me happy I could do it.

“I would like to know how he is.”

Simon Roberts