A MOTHER has spoken of her relief after a man saved the life of her choking son when the toddler started turning blue.

Nicki Lund was frozen with fear when one-year-old Jacob started struggling for breath in a McDonald's restaurant in Hartlepool on Saturday afternoon.

Luckily for the young mother, army medic Glenn 'Geordie' Kidman was sitting nearby and instantly took control of the medical emergency.

Ms Lund, 25, of Hartlepool, was out with her mother, Sharon, and sister Cheryl, when her young son started choking.

"I have been first aid trained but I just froze," said Ms Lund. "Jacob was turning blue and couldn't breathe, I was starting to panic but luckily Mr Kidman was there to help.

"He was just shouting 'pass him to me' and he managed to clear his airway – I really don't know what would have happened if he hadn't been there. He really did save Jacob's life."

Hero of the hour Mr Kidman, who has served in the Royal Army Medical Corps for 21 years, is recuperating at home after having the lower half of his left leg amputated just before Christmas.

The very humble father-of-three from Peterlee, who has served in Bosnia and Afghanistan, said instinct took over and his training just kicked in.

The 42-year-old said: "I didn't even think about it – I just knew I had to do something. People were crowded around the mother and child but nothing was happening, so I just shouted for them to pass him to me as I was trained medic.

"I managed to dislodge the food by patting him on the back but before we could get it out of his mouth he had sucked it back in and started turning blue again. The second time I patted his back we managed to get the food out of his mouth and he was able to breath again."

The incident happened less than two years after two-year-old Jacob Jenkins died five days after choking on fruit in a Pizza Hut restaurant in Hartlepool in October 2015.

And Ms Lund knows how lucky she was that someone was in the restaurant to help.

"I wouldn't usually be in the town centre but my mother and sister had come down to visit me as my grandfather had died last week," she said.

"I have spoken to Mr Kidman over Facebook to thank him for what he did to save Jacob's life – I dread to think what could have happened if he hadn't been there."

However, Mr Kidman said: "You don't do things like that for praise, you just do it because you can help and that's what I did. I may be recovering from having my leg amputated but I'm a trained medic and that is what I do – I was just pleased that I could help the young boy."