A hero scaffolder leaped off his tower to save a toddler's life by giving her a good whack on the back when she choked on a 2p coin.
Lewis Everson hit the infant so hard he left a hand print on her back – but the tot's panic-stricken mum was "so thankful" for the hero labourer's quick-thinking.
Jordane Hersey had come running out of her block of flats screaming for help while carrying two-year-old Isabelle Hill.
The little girl was close to death having swallowed a coin in the kitchen and the sight of her struggling for breath brought back terrible memories of the death of a child six years previous.
Ms Hersey, of Plymouth, Devon, told Plymouth Live : "I lost a son at 17 months old six years ago and it brought it all back."
The mum had tried whacking her tot's back herself but to no avail and, when neither she nor her older child could find her phone, panic set in and she ran to her door screaming for help.
Mum saves baby daughter choking to death on fruit with this simple move
Hero mum who held hand of dying boy, 12, after hit-and-run 'didn't want him to suffer'
Mr Everson sprang into action and his brute strength, developed over years of putting up and taking down scaffolding towers, managed to dislodge the coin from the little girl's windpipe.
Lewis' colleague Matthew then rang for an ambulance and the pair waited with Ms Hersey until paramedics arrived to check her over.
Ms Hersery said: "We were making cakes in the kitchen and Isabelle got hold of some loose change. She put a coin in her mouth and tried to swallow it.
"I tried hitting her back and my older child couldn't find my phone so I started panicking. I went to the door screaming for help.
"I am so thankful they were there and did what they did."
Ms Hersey added that the hero labourer was "very modest" and the pair insisted "they did nothing".
"But I know Lewis was shaken up afterwards," she added.
Cat kills baby girl as she sleeps in pram while mum does housework
Mr Everson said he was left "shaken" at the sight of little Isabelle struggling to breath – and he shuddered to think of the same thing happening to his own son, just a few months older than the girl.
And Mr Everson, who works for Drake Scaffolding, which was carrying out work at the Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) building, thanked the Gods he had recently completed his first aid training.
He said: "I was a bit shaken up. I had to sit in my car afterwards.
"I just thought it could have been my own son – he's only a few months older than this baby.
"I've done first aid training and you don't forget it."
He added: "There were a few of us. We heard some screaming and didn't know where it was coming from. We ran over and saw the baby choking.
"I grabbed her and put her on my lap and whacked her back hard a couple of times. She was choking on a 2p coin.
"It all happened so quickly. The baby was okay – she just had a big hand-print on her back."
Owner of Drake Scaffolding, Shane Radmore said Mr Everson was "a nice lad" who had been trained in first aid with his and several other companies.
"Lots of people would have panicked," said Mr Radmore. "He has a young child himself so it was probably instinct to help out."
PCH Health and Safety Advisor, Chris Beer, added: "We'd like to thank Lewis for his efforts in assisting with this emergency. He saved the baby's life."
Source: Read Full Article