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Lindsey Hughes looked on in horror as her daughter began to choke during a day out on the coast.

Phoebe, who was just eight months old at the time, began turning purple, her eyes bulged and she started to 'convulse' in a fit of panic.

But thanks to her quick thinking - and some training from the St John's Ambulance - Lindsey was able to remain calm and composed, perhaps saving her daughter's life in the process.

With lightning reflexes she lay Phoebe face-down across her lap and delivered four swift blows to the tot's back.

As soon as she had taken action a piece of dried mango which had become lodged in Phoebe's throat flew out of the little girl's mouth, much to the relief of her mum.

Now, Lindsey has been nominated for the St John Ambulance Everyday Heroes awards to commend her bravery.

Lindsey said: “We were walking along the seafront in Brighton and I had started to wean her and she was eating really well.

“I gave her a mango finger to chew on, she liked the juice and it helped with teething.

“Luckily, I sat down in front of her on a bench and watched her while she ate.

“Suddenly, she went very quiet. The colour changed in her face. She went a reddish purple in seconds and her eyes started bulging. She looked really shocked, like she didn't understand what was going on."

(Image: Mirror)

Lindsey, from Ewloe in Flintshire, told the Mirror it looked like Phoebe was convulsing "because her little body was moving so much in panic".

She said: "It was terrifying to see someone so small and delicate panicking. I started screaming for help but no one was around. I pulled her out of her pram I had butterfingers undoing the straps.

“I was always worried about my baby choking so from the time when I was pregnant I watched the St John Ambulance video about how to unblock a child's airway.

“I put her across my legs, with her head by my knees and her feet by my body, I raised her bottom a bit so there was some elevation at her back.

“I gave her three to four big pats on the back. I checked after each one if she was OK. She was a tiny baby and I didn't want to hurt her but I had to do it hard because I needed to get it out.

“And on about the fourth back clap she started breathing again. There were no gasps for air, nothing dramatic. It was nothing like what you see in films, it was very subtle.

“Within seconds her colour returned to normal and she was reaching out, asking for food again.

“I was shocked that it had worked. I started looking around for validation about what had just happened but there was still nobody around.

“I put her back in her pram because I wasn't feeling very stable myself at that stage and I just sat there looking at her as she grasped out for food.

“I gave her tiny bits of soft sandwich but stayed away from dried mango for a while."

(Image: Mirror)

(Image: Mirror)

Lindsey believes that watching that video allowed her to save her daughter's life.

She said: “When a child chokes there's no huge indicator about what's happening. It's difficult to think in the moment about what to do. But I had watched that video so many times I was prepared.

“Now she's a perfectly normal, fabulous four-year-old. She's buckets of fun and attitude and her lovely personality is really coming through.

“I was always really conscious of choking, even when I was pregnant. I saw a lot of reports about children choking on grapes – I still don't feed Phoebe grapes – so choking was something I was very aware of."

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Lindsey said that she was nominated for the Everyday Heroes award after she took a St John Ambulance first aid course at work and mentioned how watching that video had helped her save Phoebe's life more than three years ago.

Nominations are now open for the awards, which recognise the nation’s life savers, health heroes and community stars.

The awards celebrate people who have saved lives with first aid or volunteered in the community and will be hosted by the Reverend Richard Coles.

Last year’s winners included a teenager who came to the rescue of a stabbing victim outside her home, a father and son team who saved the life of a former Olympic boxer when he collapsed on their golf course and a football medical team who have successfully resuscitated five patients who have suffered cardiac arrests at their stadium since it opened.

The awards recognise groups and individuals and are split into three categories: Young Hero, Community Hero and Workplace Hero.

They will also reward outstanding contributions from St John Ambulance volunteers.

The awards ceremony will take place at Hilton London Bankside on Monday 7 October 2019 and has been attended in previous years by Katie Piper, Tess Daly, Dr Ranj Singh, Sir Trevor Brooking and Sophie Raworth.

For more information about the awards and details of how to nominate, visit the St John Ambulance website here .