Wigan family thanks ex-marine for saving choking son's life

Kelly Potts says she cannot thank Aidan Holland enough after he came to her aid when three-year-old Thomas began choking on apple.

Kelly, 36, was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Ince, with Thomas and her two young daughters, Jessica and Katie, having just picked them up from school.

They were on their way to pick up her husband Graham when the terrifying incident began to unfold.

The Ince mum said: “Thomas was eating an apple and started to choke. I started to smack him on the back but nothing was happening.

Kelly, who used to be a care worker, added: “I am fully first aid trained, but it went fully out of the window.”

Unbeknownst to her, ex-Royal Marine Aidan, 46, was sitting in the car in front, and spotted what was happening in his rear view mirror.

“He jumped out of the car and ran over, and asked if Thomas was choking,” Kelly said.

“He pulled him out of the car and did back blows, but nothing came up.”

Thomas was turning blue by this point, leaving Kelly understandably horrified.

“He forced his fingers down my boy’s throat and made him heave, and eventually it came up. It was over in a matter of about five minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.”

An emotional Kelly stated: “If it wasn’t for him, my boy wouldn’t be here today.”

Aidan went on his way after his heroic deed, before Kelly could take his details. Armed with only a car registration number, Kelly contacted the DVLA and Greater Manchester Police to see if they could help find him.

When her requests were rebuffed, she took to the web to ask residents if they knew who the good samaritan might be.

Through the power of social media, Kelly found Aidan and his wife within an hour.

“They only live around the corner from where I live,” she said. “We took them some flowers and agreed to stay in touch.

“I just cannot thank him enough. Thomas even calls Aidan ‘superman’ now. That gave me a lump in my throat.”

Aidan’s wife Sarah said: “I noticed something happening in our mirror. At first, I thought she (Kelly) was screaming at her child, shouting at him, but then I saw panic in her face. I could tell something wasn’t right.”

The 42-year-old beauty technician added: “I stopped the car on the side of the road, and Aidan got out and ran over. I was shaking trying to ring an ambulance.

“But Aidan was in the marines for over nine years, he’s had to do much worse!”

Having gone their separate ways, the couple, who have a 12-year-old son, found out Kelly was trying to trace them when one of Sarah’s customers rang her after spotting the appeal on Facebook.

“We felt a bit like celebrities because we had everyone messaging us, trying to find us,” Sarah joked.

“Aidan was a bit overwhelmed, because he is quite a humble man.

“It did affect him though, because he was thinking what if it hadn’t turned out the way it did.

“He probably wouldn’t have ever got over that.”