A POLICE officer who saved a pensioner from choking to death in Wrexham town centre is to receive a top award.
Wrexham-based PC Lee Davies has been awarded a resuscitation certificate by the Royal Humane Society for saving the life of a 72-year old woman from Wrexham.
She was with her husband in Wrexham on September 29 and they had stopped on Queen’s Square for a bag of chips.
She began choking and collapsed to the ground.
Her husband, who did not want to be named, told the Leader: “We’d finished our chips and stood up to walk away, but I could tell something was wrong.
“I asked if she was OK. There was no struggle or anything, she just collapsed.
“Someone checked for a pulse and she wasn’t breathing.
“It was horrific. It was a nightmare.”
A quick-thinking CCTV operator had spotted the woman in distress and called for an ambulance, as did a member of the public.
PC Davies overheard the transmission and rushed to the scene, where he performed the Heimlich manoeuvre and began cardiac pulmonary resuscitation.
Two off-duty nurses took over and the woman started to breathe.
Her husband added: “The response was almost immediate and the actions they took were life-saving. I’d like to thank everybody concerned for all they did that day.”
Royal Humane Society secretary Dick Wilkinson praised the efforts of PC Davies as he announced the award in London yesterday.
He said: “Put simply he was the right person in the right place at the right time.
“A CCTV operator spotted the lady, apparently in some distress, and called for an ambulance.
“Two police officers overheard the transmission and went to the spot.
“They found the lady unconscious and not breathing. Her husband had been trying to help her to no avail.
“They were told she had choked on food, so PC Davies first tried slapping her back and then the Heimlich manoeuvre.
“This had no effect so he put her on the ground and started cardiac pulmonary resuscitation.
“After about five minutes, two off-duty nurses took over and eventually the woman started to breathe.
“Without the efforts of PC Davies, she would probably have stood no chance of survival. He thoroughly deserves this award.”
The award presentation is likely to take place in the future.