Baker comes to OAP’s rescue
AN M&S baker ran to the rescue of a man hit by a bus and kept him warm with a giant freezer coat while they waited for an ambulance.
Denise Crowe has spoken of the importance of learning first aid after helping out during the incident near Piccadilly bus station on Tuesday morning.
The mum-of-three was working behind the bread counter when she heard shouting outside and saw an elderly man on the floor.
The 88-year-old had been struck by a bus in Piccadilly Gardens at around 9.30am and paramedics were yet to arrive.
Running out to assess his condition, Denise asked a woman to put his head on her handbag. She then used a coat worn by M&S staff in the walk-in freezers to keep him warm.
The supermarket worker stayed with the injured man, monitoring his symptoms for 20 minutes before the ambulance arrived.
Denise said: “It was instinct to go to him because I’m a store first aider.
“When I saw him and noticed how frail he was I knew I had to keep him warm.
“The freezer coat was perfect. I assessed him and realised he was alert and stable and just needed us to stay with him.
“He couldn’t speak English so another man came to translate. He said he was 88 and he’d hurt his back.”
Denise, 46, from Whitefield, said she acted on instinct and says everyone should learn first aid.
She added: “It’s allowed me to help in lots of different situations.
“Along with a man more senior than me we once helped a woman having a fit. We learned later it had saved her life. It’s also so helpful being a mum and having that skill.”
A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service said an ambulance was sent to the scene after someone was hit by a vehicle.
The injured man was taken by ambulance to hospital for treatment.
She said: “We got a call at 9.58am to Piccadilly bus station. It looks like somebody has been hit by a vehicle.”
All bus services in the city centre dropped passengers off and started journeys from Portland Street and Chepstow Street while emergency crews dealt with the incident.
The station fully reopened again at around 10.30am.