A newly qualified first aider is encouraging others to learn first aid, after she saved a girl’s life while on a night out in town.

24-year-old Adele Jenkins from Roath in Cardiff, was celebrating over the Christmas period when she came across another party goer who was unconscious in the street.

Adele said, “It was the early hours of Sunday morning and I was walking through Cardiff city centre to get a taxi home. Suddenly I saw a girl lying in the street and her friend screaming for help. Passersby were ignoring them, but I instinctively ran over to see if I could help.

“The girl – whose name was Zoe – was lying unconscious on the floor, she was choking on her own vomit and I could see she was having trouble breathing and her lips were turning blue. I immediately put her in the recovery position, gave her back blows to dislodge the vomit that was blocking her airways and she started to breathe more normally. But she was still unresponsive.

“Her friend was panicking and upset, but I managed to calm her down and get her to call an ambulance. Zoe began to come around but still seemed to be having trouble breathing so I checked whether she had any medical conditions and she managed to tell me that she had asthma, but didn’t have her inhaler with her. Luckily the ambulance quickly arrived and I was able to tell them what had happened.”

Adele had only recently qualified as a first aider, after attending a three-day first aid at work course with St John Wales.

She said, “I didn’t realise just how quickly I’d need to use the skills I’d learnt to save a life. The paramedics said it was lucky I was there – if Zoe had been left alone the outcome could have been very different.

“I’d urge anyone to take a first aid course with St John Wales. And I hope that by raising awareness I’ll hear from Zoe, to see if she has made a full recovery.”

Jon Phillips, Director of Training at St John Wales said, “Adele’s experience shows that knowing what to do in those vital first minutes of an emergency situation could dramatically increase your chance of survival. I’m pleased to hear she was able to help and I hope Zoe has made a full recovery.”

St John Wales’ aim is have a first aider on every street in Wales.

To download St John Wales’ free first aid app click here. Or to book a course click here.