A RELIEVED mother has thanked her sister for saving her son’s life as he choked on a sweet at a children’s party.

Gillian Conder feared her son Nathan, aged two, was about to die in front of her eyes when a jelly sweet became lodged in his throat at his cousin Amie’s ninth birthday party.

A trained first aider, she tried frantically to help him cough it up, as did her older sister and Amie’s mum Gail Gallagher, but their efforts were to no avail.

By this point, Nathan was starting to go limp, his face was turning pale and blood was coming from his mouth.

Panic-stricken, the family called 999.

But before an ambulance could reach the scene, Mrs Conder’s younger sister Sarah Frazer, also a trained first aider, managed to get Nathan to cough up the offending sweet by slapping his back and pressing his chest.

The Newcastle United-supporting toddler was taken to hospital, but released later the same day and suffered no long-term effects.

“I think Sarah saved his life,” Mrs Conder, 27, said.

“I’m so thankful for what she did. I was frantic. I didn’t know what to do.

“I’ll never forget the look on his face, it just said: someone, please help me.”

Ms Frazer, 22, a sales assistant at Smyths Toys, said: “Gail was phoning the ambulance and I had Nathan over my arm.

“It felt as though it lasted forever. It was probably about three-and-a-half or four minutes. But it felt like a lifetime. It was awful.”

The incident took place in Gateshead on October 16 last year.

The sisters, who both live in Gateshead, who are now urging as many people as possible to get first aid training, available from organisations such as St John Ambulance, whether for work or personal situations.

Workplace first aid qualifications are available for emergency situations (level two) and non-emergency situations (level three).

For more information, visit sja.org.uk or call 0844-770-4800.