A TRIP to Cardiff to watch last weekend’s Wales v Italy Six Nations rugby match saw West Somerset businessman Stuart Davies save another man’s life – using a wooden spoon.

Stuart, aged 56, manager of CRS Building Supplies, Watchet, and his Somerset councillor father Hugh, both devoted Welsh rugby supporters, had driven to Cardiff and stopped for a meal in a cafeteria before the game.

As they ordered food there was the sound of smashing plates and a man, possibly in his late 30s, collapsed on the floor and was having what appeared to be a seizure, gasping and choking and unable to breathe.

Stuart said: “He was with a friend who was crying out for help.

“Everybody panicked and did not know what to do.

“I told dad that somebody ought to try to sort things out.

“I had done First Aid training years ago and been on refresher courses.

“Luckily, I remembered what to do when somebody has serious breathing difficulties and asked the staff to get me a wooden spoon to help clear the man’s airways and stop him biting his tongue.

“A metal spoon can cause serious damage and even break your teeth.

“I could not get him into the recovery position so I held him upright with his head back.

“He kept going in and out of consciousness, so while I was dealing with the casualty I was also relaying his condition to the 999 call handler.

“I knew it was pretty serious, he was hardly breathing and was unconscious and unresponsive for 10 to 15 minutes.

“I managed to keep his airway clear and was also trying to reassure his friend who was convinced he was dying.

“When the paramedics arrived I explained what had happened and they said I had almost certainly saved his life, although the wooden spoon actually did that.

“Without it he would probably have swallowed his tongue and choked to death.

“I just did what anybody else with First Aid training would have done.

“I was told later it was a ‘category one’ emergency and I think it would have been a rather different scenario if I had not stepped in, but I still do not think I did anything out of the ordinary.

“At the time I was quite calm but afterwards I was shaking with all the adrenalin.

“The restaurant staff did not seem to know what to do, and the owner was in tears.”

The NHS guidelines on ‘What to do if someone has a seizure (fit)’ can be found here: www.nhs.uk/symptoms/what-to-do-if-someone-has-a-seizure-fit