Edinburgh Asda workers thanked by parents of toddler after they saved his life

Quick-thinking of supermarket workers saved life of one-year-old boy

The parents of a toddler who stopped breathing during a shopping trip have thanked the supermarket first-aiders who saved their son’s life.

Beth Williams and Jack Allan, both 21, say they will be “forever thankful” for the quick thinking of Asda Edinburgh colleagues Dean Carpenter and James Jenkins as they rushed to the aid of 16-month-old Finlay. The family, who live in the Capital, were out for the day when Finlay suffered a febrile convulsion as they entered the store at The Jewel. Pharmacy worker James stripped him down to his nappy while general manager section leader Dean called 999, then calmly massaged the tot’s chest after he began to turn blue.

Beth said: "We'd all just been to soft play and were about to go into Asda. I'd just put him into a trolley and he just flopped sideways and started crying. He was very, very warm. I went straight into the shop to find someone who could help. I was a bit panicky at this point, but luckily James and Dean were there.

Toddler Finlay Allan with parents Beth and Jack and Asda first-aider James Jenkins

"The whole situation only lasted about ten minutes, but it felt like forever as we didn't know what was going on. We didn't have a clue. Finlay went blue at one point and then he stopped breathing as well. I just don't know what I was thinking, it was just so scary. We're so grateful to James and Dean for everything they did for us. It's every parent’s worst nightmare when their baby takes ill, and the two gentlemen were incredible. Their professionalism, calmness and consideration were so appreciated. They immediately came to Finlay’s aid, and we will always be thankful for that.”

Finlay was taken by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and by which time his seizures had stopped. Beth said: "When he got there they monitored him overnight and took his temperature every four hours and gave him medication to get his temperature down, and he was allowed out the following morning. The doctors thought it might have been caused by his teeth which were just coming through, but he had signs of common cold too. He's totally fine now, thankfully."

Dean, 61, who's worked in the Asda Edinburgh store for five years, has two grown-up children and two grandchildren, aged five and three. He said: "I was in the warehouse when I got a call from our store manager to say there was a little baby involved. It's always scarier when it's a baby. When it's an adult you can talk to people and ask them 'how's it going'? and 'where is the pain?' but with a baby you have no interaction whatsoever.

"James works in the pharmacy so he was on the doorstep when it happened. He was comforting the baby as he was still having convulsions and I took over the 999 call. But just before the paramedics came into the shop, he stopped breathing. I just thought 'no, not now' so I gave him a massage, a gentle rub and a squeeze and he started breathing again. It was scary as hell. Me and James just looked at each other in total relief. We are just so pleased that Finlay was okay in the end and we were able to help at such a traumatic time for the parents.”