Bev McLaughlin was not expecting to have a traumatic day when she set off for a morning stroll with her seven-month-old son.

But the mother-of-six was sent into a whirl of panic when he started to choke and turn blue.

Baby Neil had chocolate lodged in his throat and it was thanks to the actions of care worker Sue Godward that he survived.

Mother and son had taken a stroll along Broadstone Way, Holme Wood, at 9.15am yesterday when Miss McLaughlin, 34, treated the young one to a piece of chocolate.

Within minutes he was out of his pram and in her arms as the small piece of Milky Bar became lodged in his throat. Five minutes passed as the frantic mother tried patting him on the back and turning him upside down to force out the sweet but without success.

She said: "It was one of the worst experiences I have ever been through. I was crying and choking and panicking because I could not stop him from choking. He'd gone a grey colour and I was so scared of losing him."

Luckily Miss Godward, 46, a family resource worker at Edward's Rainbow Centre, Holme Wood, was walking to work when she recognised Miss McLaughlin as one of her clients.

"I saw a woman holding a baby upside down across the road and I recognised her and ran across the road," she said. "I took hold of him and whacked him really hard and then stuck my fingers down his throat.

"I didn't even check to see if there were any cars coming, I just ran, it was a gut reaction.

"Afterwards I started shaking when I realised how bad the situation was. Neil had almost turned blue. I don't know what would have happened if he had been like it for much longer.

"Afterwards I gave Bev a cuddle and made sure the baby was OK. "I suppose I did save his life and I'm quite proud of that."

Miss McLaughlin, who lives on Broadstone Way, took Neil home and got him checked by his father Jason Leyland, 28, who has experience in first aid. She said: "We named Neil after Jason's brother who died last year. I don't know what he would have done if anything had happened to him."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service said: "In this situation you can call 999 and emergency medical staff will talk you through the process."