A MUM from Kendal has relived the horror of seeing her four-year-old son fall headfirst onto concrete from a supermarket shopping trolley.
Little Bert Savage sparked a major rescue operation when the incident occurred in the car park of Aldi in Kendal in March last year.
Bert’s mum, Hannah Savage, said: “We arrived to do the big shop. I put our daughter, Mabel, who’s three, in the trolley and then Bert.
“I then had to move the trolley for another car that wanted to be in the space beside me.”
Bert had been playing with a wooden sword in the seat of the trolley when he stood up, lost his balance and fell backwards, landing on the concrete below.
Mrs Savage said: “Time for me almost stood still. I only moved the trolley for the car a tiny bit and he literally did a backflip out of it when I moved it. That sound of his head hitting the floor is something I will never forget.”
Bystanders ran over to check on Bert while Mrs Savage alerted her husband Percy and called 999 but not long after this, Bert lost all consciousness.
Mrs Savage said: “That’s when I really started to panic. By the time the ambulance came, he couldn’t speak and wasn’t responding to anything. They assessed him and decided it was time to call the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).”
North West Ambulance Service drove the family to a nearby school field where GNAAS landed and assessed Bert.
Mrs Savage said: “The team jumped straight out of the helicopter and ran over to us. Doctor Mark Byers took the lead and then suddenly, Bert regained consciousness, looked at Mark’s flight suit and said, ‘red is my favourite colour’ – I was so relived he was awake.”
Luckily, Bert had escaped with minor injuries and concussion and did not need to be taken to a major trauma unit.
Mrs Savage said: “The team confirmed he didn’t have a fracture and then to my surprise, the next day there was a knock at the door and it was doctor Mark. He had visited on his day off to check on Bert and I was so touched by this, I burst into tears.”
Bert has since made a full recovery, with Mrs Savage adding: “He’s fine now, but we are just so grateful that GNAAS came that day to see him. They are absolutely incredible and the work they do is amazing.”
GNAAS is continuing to fly through the COVID-19 crisis but has asked the public to continue its support in the face of the collapse of its community fundraising activities. Please visit www.gnaas.com or call 01768 899 150.