Two Tameside police officers have been hailed as “absolute heroes” after saving the life of a seven-year-old little girl.
It comes after emergency services were called to an address in the Greater Manchester borough of Tameside earlier this week (29 November), and found a young girl who was struggling to breath and coughing up blood after choking on a sweet.
Police Constables Aaron Kincaid and James Blundell, from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Tameside division, were first on the scene.
To the huge relief of the girl’s parents, who were said to be “understandably distressed” and concerned for her welfare, PC Kincaid jumped straight into action and was able to utilise his first aid training to full effect by going on to successfully dislodge the sweet from the youngster’s throat, and then helping to calm her down before the paramedics arrived.
Whilst PC Kincaid looked after the little girl, PC Blundell did “everything he could” to help the parents remain calm.
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Paramedics then took over once they arrived, and the young girl was taken to hospital as a precaution.
#NEWS | Tameside officers praised for saving the life of a 7-year-old girl who was choking.
The officers used their first aid training to dislodge the sweet, whilst helping the young girl and parents remain calm until paramedics arrived.
Reflecting on the incident, and hailing his officers “absolute heroes”, Superintendent Mike Walsh, from GMP’s Tameside district, said: “PCs Aaron Kincaid and James Blundell acted without hesitation during the incident, and took control of the situation that they were faced with.
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“They deserve every credit for staying calm under extreme pressure and for working together as a team and utilising their training to lifesaving effect, and I’m sure the girl’s parents and family will consider them to be absolute heroes.”
“We’re both glad that we were in the right place at the right time,” PC Kincaid added.
“I have a daughter the same age as the little girl who needed our help, and I cannot tell you how much of a relief it was when she started breathing normally and said she was okay after I had managed to dislodge the sweet.
“The little girl gave me a thank you hug before she went to hospital, but I couldn’t have done what I did without PC Blundell’s assistance, so it was a real team effort.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
New measures announced to tackle ‘rogue’ landlords across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A cohort of trained enforcement officers are set to hit the streets in all 10 boroughs to help improve the lives of the region’s renters.
Forming part of Greater Manchester‘s commitment to the highest-quality housing standards alongside the Good Landlord Charter, the newly trained enforcement officers will be tasked with protecting tenants, joining Council teams in checking rental properties, bringing enforcement action against bad landlords, and cracking down on illegal practices.
The introduction of the new enforcement officers comes after what has been ‘years of sustained pressure’ on local budgets.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) says it is working with the 10 councils across the region to strengthen local teams, rebuild in-house skills and expertise, and ensure that powers can be applied with consistency in all boroughs.
As mentioned, this all forms part of the Good Landlord Charter – which is GMCA’s ‘bold approach’ to drive up standards for renters across the region.
Landlords of more than half of rented properties in Greater Manchester have now signed up as supporters of the Charter, and as supporters, they have committed to going above and beyond legal minimums to improve the renting experience for hundreds of thousands of people.
“A safe place to call home is the cornerstone of a happy, healthy life,” explained Mayor Bev Craig. “But for years, people have felt trapped in poor-quality housing, and cash-strapped councils were unable to step in to help. I’m putting an end to that.
“We know there are plenty of good landlords in Greater Manchester, and many of them have already signed up to our Good Landlord Charter, but too many are just not good enough.
“That’s why we’re deploying a new generation of expert housing officers onto the streets of our towns and cities.”
Mayor Bev Craig declared that she ‘won’t stand by and let rogue landlords take advantage of people’.
She continued: “By empowering renters, working with responsible landlords, and using our powers to crack down on the bad ones, I will make sure everyone in Greater Manchester has the foundation for a good life.”
Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
News
One million UK adults who have never smoked before are now vaping, new stats reveal
Emily Sergeant
More than a million UK adults who claim to have never smoked cigarettes are now vaping.
According to alarming new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), relating to people aged 16 and over, around 2.8 million men (11.3%) and 2.1 million women (8.2%) are thought to be smokers in the UK… but more than a million people, who have never smoked before, have now made the decision to start vaping instead.
People in the 25 to 34 age group were found to be the most likely to vape, according to the data, overtaking those aged 16 to 24, as it was the only age group to see a rise in e-cigarette usage.
Daily or occasional vaping is still higher than the proportion of people smoking cigarettes too, the ONS revealed, at 5.4 million, or 9.9%, versus 4.8 million (8.7%).
One million UK adults who have never smoked are now vaping / Credit: Lil Artsy (via Pexels) | Pxhere
“Fewer than one in 10 adults now smoke,” commented David Mais, from the ONS.
“This is the lowest proportion on record and continues the long-term decline in smoking. [But] at the same time, e-cigarette use remains more common than smoking and has followed an overall upward trend since 2020.
“E-cigarette users are also getting older, with those aged 25 to 34 now overtaking 16 to 24-year-olds as the age group most likely to use them.
Emily Sergeant -
1st December 2023 
