Lunchtime lifesaver: Off-duty paramedic saves First Class Virgin Trains passenger choking on sandwich

An off duty paramedic has helped save the life of a first class rail passenger while he was choking to death on a sandwich.

A call for help was issued on the Virgin Trains service from Liverpool to London as it stopped at Stafford Station at 1:45pm on Monday.

The man, who was in a first class carriage, had stopped breathing and was becoming hypoxic from a lack of oxygen after eating a sandwich.

North West Ambulance Service paramedic Paul Jones jumped out of his own carriage and ran along the platform to where the patient was to find another passenger trying CPR on the man.

Mr Jones assessed the passenger, then used abdominal thrusts, back slaps, finger sweeps and manipulated the man’s throat until a large chunk of food came out, allowing the man in his 50s to breathe slightly.

At this point an ambulance crew and rapid response vehicle arrived, three minutes after the 999 call.

The three West Midlands Ambulance Service staff worked with Mr Jones to continue treating the man, clearing his throat completely and giving him oxygen.

The man was then taken off the train and driven the short distance to County Hospital, Stafford, by ambulance.

Mr Jones, said:

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman added: