Hero Wolverhampton bobby awarded for saving baby girl who stopped breathing
Alexei Kandare owes her life to the quick-thinking actions of Sergeant Ron Price – and now his heroics have earned him an award.
Sgt Price helped to resuscitate the girl when she suffered a fit and stopped breathing at her home in Wolverhampton.
The drama started unfolding in August and, terrified, Alexei's grandmother banged on Sgt Price's office door at her block of flats desperate for help.
Hayley Haycock, Alexei's mother, revealed the horror to the Express & Star. (Full story)
She said: "At first we thought Alexei was choking because she seemed to be having trouble breathing so we called the doctor straight away who told us to take her to hospital."
The 25-year-old mother of two said: "By the time we got downstairs, Alexei wasn't breathing."
Alexei's grandmother Susan Pettey took the baby from her home in Pennwood Court in Merry Hill and rushed to Sgt Price's office.
Sgt Price said he initially thought that she was choking and checked to see if anything was stuck in her mouth or blocking her airway.
Helped by a passer-by, he phoned paramedics, who talked him through what he had to do. He managed to get Alexei, who was eight months old at the time, breathing before paramedics arrived.
The officer, who has been with the force for almost 20 years, then organised a police escort to get her to New Cross Hospital as quickly as possible. After three days, Alexei was allowed to return home. Sgt Price described it as the scariest thing he has ever done. He said afterwards: "I went on holiday the day after it happened and I kept phoning the family to see how she was – I was so thrilled to hear she was OK."
Insp Rich Vickers said: "We are all immensely proud of his sterling work, that's why I put him up for the award."
