THE grandmother of a six-month-old premature baby has praised a policeman for saving his life.
PC Matthew Ainley was the first member of the emergency services on the scene when Coady Grainger suffered breathing difficulties at home in Withernsea.
When PC Ainley arrived at the family home, Coady was "lifeless and blue".
Janice Grainger, Coady's grandmother, said PC Ainley was their hero after he opened up Coady's airway and managed to stabilise the baby's condition until a paramedic arrived.
Mrs Grainger said: "Someone must have been looking down on us when they sent Matthew and we can't thank him enough for what he's done.
"Coady's always been a fighter and I call him my little miracle. He's had operations to stop him going blind and he's had a bowel infection. He's spent the majority of his life in hospital.
"He's very special to all of us and I dread to think what might have happened if Matthew had not known just what to do."
Coady's mother Leah, 26, rang Janice, her partner Daniel's mother, when she noticed Coady wasn't his usual happy self.
Janice called the doctor's surgery and was told to dial 999 when she described the seriousness of Coady's condition.
She said: "I was talking to the operator for 20 minutes while he was trying to get in touch with the ambulance.
"In the end, he put me through to the police and luckily Matthew came."
David Williams, deputy director of operations at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, apologised for the delay.
He said: "On this day, the trust received an unprecedented number of 999 calls, mainly due to weather-related incidents as a result of the extremely icy conditions.
"We are sorry it took much longer than usual to answer 999 calls and to reach a number of patients during this time."
PC Ainley, who is also a Withernsea RNLI volunteer, said he put into practice the Casualty Care training he had just had at the lifeboat station.
He said: "I was trying to visualise the cards we use to assess someone's condition.
"His mum was really frightened.
"I put Coady on the sofa, got him in the right position and managed to open up his airway.
"After a moment, he took a breath and soon I could hear very shallow breathing.
"Within four or five minutes, his colour started to improve and then a noise on my radio startled him and he shook and opened his eyes. What a relief.
"Thankfully, I was in the right place at the right time and although I was responding as a police officer, it was the RNLI Casualty Care training I'd just finished the week before that gave me the knowledge, skills and confidence to help the baby."
Coady, who was a twin and was named after the consultant at Hull Royal Infirmary who helped Leah give birth, was born in June at just 25 weeks and was only 1lb 7oz. His lungs are not properly developed.
His brother Chance died soon after being born after pregnancy complications.
Janice said: "Having a funeral for Chance was awful.
"Without Matthew, we could very well have been having one for Coady."
Coady, is receiving treatment for respiratory syncytial virus at Hull Royal Infirmary, although it is hoped he will be back at home in Withernsea today.
Chief Superintendent Richard Kerman, Divisional Commander for the East Riding, praised the efforts of PC Ainley in saving Coady.
He said: "All Humberside officers receive regular first aid training and I commend PC Ainley for putting his training to effective use with his prompt response to this call.
"His quick thinking and actions have made a real difference. I would like to extend my good wishes to Coady and his parents for Christmas and the new year and hope he goes on to make a full recovery."
