Bravery award for woman who saved choking boy

Carrie Maxfield used life-saving training she learned at work to help save the boy

A woman who saved the life of a three-year-old boy who choked on his lunch during a family holiday has been awarded for her bravery.

Carrie Maxfield, of Mapperley in Nottingham, was out for a meal while holidaying in Skegness with her own family in August 2023, when she noticed the boy sat on a table opposite struggling to breathe.

As the boy began to "turn blue" and his mum "screamed" for help, the NHS worker said she instinctively got up to help.

The 46-year-old won the Bravery Award at BBC Radio Nottingham's 2024 Make a Difference Awards on Friday.

Ms Maxfield said it was "an absolute honour" to win the Bravery Award

Recalling what happened, she said: "The little boy got up and he started to choke.

"His mum got hold of him and was doing back slaps and she was getting more and more frantic that nothing was happening."

Ms Maxfield, a service manager in diabetic eye screening at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), said mandatory "life-saving skills" training once a year meant she knew what steps to take.

First, she tried using the Heimlich manoeuvre but when that did not work, she bent him over her knees and smacked his back, until the piece of sausage he was choking on became dislodged.

'Life-long friends'

"His mum thanked me and put her arms around me and gave me a big hug," Ms Maxfield said.

She was praised by friends and colleagues at NUH and surprised with a video message from the boy she saved and his mum when she got home.

The pair are now "life-long friends" and keep in touch on Facebook.

Ms Maxfield said it was "an absolute honour" to win the Bravery Award.

"It's quite an emotional thing to do to save someone's life," she added.