Northampton shop worker's quick-thinking to save boy from choking praised by family

A Northampton sports shop worker has received high praise after his quick-thinking saved the life of a boy who was choking on popcorn.
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Lucas Laghari was celebrating his sixth birthday on Friday (August 19) when he was bought the sweet treat by his parents in Boots at the Riverside retail park on the outskirts of the town.

They were heading to Harvester for a meal when Lucas started making noises and his lips turned blue.

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As the family started to get frantic with worry, a Sports Direct worker ran over and smacked the popcorn from the youngster’s throat before giving him mouth-to-mouth.

And Lucas’ father, Mick, says if it was not for the worker’s actions, his son may have died.

The 48-year-old said: “I was shopping with my wife and we bought Lucas some popcorn.

“He started choking and turned blue and collapsed and all of a sudden the man ran over.

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“He gave him mouth-to-mouth while I called the ambulance and thankfully he is okay now, but doctors said he was very lucky.

“Without a doubt he could have died. he didn’t have to do what he did, but he was brilliant.

“He even bought drinks for the family from Boots to calm us down. We can’t thank him enough.”

The family, who come from Bedford, were on a summer break at Billing Aquadrome but were forced to cut their stay short after the incident.

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Mr Laghari says it has made him and his wife Shanay, 46, think about taking a first aid course in the future.

He said: “We’ve got four young children, Angelo, 10, Dominique, eight, Martha, three, and Lucas.

“It’s made us think about doing a first aid course in case something happens to any of them.

“We saw Lucas struggling and didn’t know what to do. You never think it could happen but my son nearly died because of a piece of popcorn of all things.”

Do you know who the quick-thinking lifesaver was? Get in touch at [email protected] or call 01604 467033

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