Police officer who saved baby's life wins award

PC Jack Clayton performed CPR on the baby in December last year

A police officer has won an award after he saved a three-month-old baby by performing CPR on him.

PC Jack Clayton, who was on duty with South Yorkshire Police at the time, will be presented with the Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate in April 2025.

PC Clayton said he had “simply done his job”.

He said: "It's a really nice gesture. It's great to see a positive reaction to police-related work and it's nice to be recognised as a representative of the police.”

He added: "The primary function for us as police is to help people and it's nice to see that recognised.

"I simply did my job and I just did what I feel anyone in my position would have done."

PC Clayton was working as a response officer in Mexborough in December 2023 when he received an urgent call about a baby in cardiac arrest.

The baby's father was already performing CPR when PC Clayton took over. The baby was then taken to hospital and survived.

He said: "I knew the dad was going to need a break so I asked if he wanted me to take over and that is when I started conducting CPR.

"The call handler on the phone was calling out the repetitions for chest compressions and breathing and I had to be very careful as the baby had been born prematurely, so in reality he was only three days old instead of three months old.”

PC Clayton now works as a neighbourhood policing officer for the Doncaster East district and is based in Thorne.

RHS secretary Andrew Chapman said PC Clayton “richly deserved the award”.

He said: “In what must have been a harrowing scene, PC Clayton immediately began CPR on the baby and undoubtedly played a major role in bringing it back to life.

“This is another of many cases we see that emphasise the value of as many people as possible, not just members of the emergency services, learning how to administer CPR.

“It can, as it did here, make the difference between life and death.”

The RHS is a British charity that awards medals, testimonials and certificates for acts of bravery.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.