A heroic barman has spoken of how he saved the life of a baby after it started choking when a bottle cap became lodged in his throat.<br /><br />Josh Smith, 32, jumped into action after hearing the cries of the baby’s mother after 20-month old Khalil began to have difficulties breathing after choking on a bottle cap.<br /><br />Josh, who works at Katana in Peterborough, Cambs, managed to pull the cap out of the baby's mouth in the incident on May 5.<br /><br />He said: "Khalil’s parents came in sat down and there were served, everything normal but then I heard shouts of ‘he’s choking, he’s choking.’<br /><br />“I just had to step in. I ran over and placed the baby over my leg, I started with back slaps and then I could finally hear that the airways were clear.<br /><br />"As I lifted the baby up, the mum told me that it was a bottle cap so I checked the baby’s mouth, managed to get my fingers in to pull the cap out and then the baby began to breathe properly again.<br /><br />“I was just happy to be involved an to help save Khalil and hopefully he has a long life ahead. I was happy I was around."<br /><br />Josh summoned up all of his previous first aid experience he gained having held jobs as a coastguard and as an AS90 Gunner in the Royal Horse Artillery.<br /><br />He added: “15 years later, I was worried my training was out of date but something like this just shows how important taking a course and having the knowledge is.<br /><br />“It’s nice to have a little bit of acknowledgement, I didn’t expect this level, surely people are saved every day? It’s a bit strange but I am taking it in my stride.<br /><br />"I am grateful to have had the thanks of the family and that I could be there to make sure that Khalil could live another day."<br /><br />Since the incident, Josh has been showered with praise for his actions and was given a special thank you at the restaurant on Friday.<br /><br />Restaurant owner Prem Devkota said: “This was a very unfortunate incident and could have been so much worse had it not been for the quick reaction of our staff and Josh in particular.<br /><br />"We are incredibly grateful for those efforts and I am pleased to hear that the child is recovering well.”
