A mum who almost choked to death when she was a baby has thanked the hero Asda worker who saved her 26 years ago.
Jodie McLaughlin, 27, had stopped breathing in Asda carpark in Blantyre when George Barclay sprung into action to save her.
Jodie, who recently became a mum for the first time herself sent a special message to her hero George as he retires this week after 39 years in the supermarket.
Jodie said: "I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for George."
Security guard George came to the rescue 26 years ago when Jodie had a convulsion and swallowed her tongue, causing her to stop breathing when she was just a year old.
The 60-year-old says he can remember it as if was yesterday.
He said: "I was actually on holiday from work and just got back from Benidorm with my mum and popped to the store to pick up some groceries. I was in the car park approaching the store when this girl ran towards me and was shouting and crying that a child had stopped breathing.
"When I got to Jodie she was actually blue. I was a first-aider so I noticed that she'd swallowed her tongue. I managed to get it free, then gave her the kiss of life, massaged her chest and managed to get her breathing again.
"It took a little while, but after a couple of minutes she started crying. I was so overjoyed that she was okay. I just took everything in my stride as adrenaline kicked in. I didn't panic – I just got on with it.
"A few years ago when Jodie turned 18, she came into the store with her family and presented me with a pen and a card as a thank you."
Twenty-seven-year-old Jodie, who gave birth to her son Travis two weeks ago, said: "If it wasn't for George's actions that day my future could have been very different. He saved my life.
"Although I don't remember any of it, my dad, Willie Kerr, said I was with his sister in law Anne at the time. It was winter and I'd been wearing a snow suit and overheated.
"George was very calm and got Anne to strip me to my nappy and he put a fan on me too to reduce my temperature while the ambulance arrived. The hospital said it was George's quick thinking that had helped me.
"George has been at the store for a long time and you always see him when you go in. He's always there and I wave to him. I'd like to wish him all the best in his retirement."
George, who lives a ten-minute walk from the store, says he's loved his time with Asda and will really miss working there.
He said: "It's been my life for nearly 40 years. I've a great relationship with customers and colleagues. I've always had the opinion that if you treat people right they will treat you right.
"I've done most things in the store. I started out as a porter, then a greeter. I've been on checkouts and in the warehouse too and for the last 12 years I've been a security colleague. Everyone in Blantyre knows me and I know them."
George will spend his retirement helping out with his beloved Glasgow Tigers Speedway team and hopes to go travelling – probably to Las Vegas where he's been 34 times since 2001.
He said: "I just love Las Vegas. I've a lot of friends out there and I know a lot of people in the entertainment business. I normally go there about twice a year. I don't gamble that much – it's just the buzz of the place that I love."
"I just want to enjoy my retirement. My dad died when he was 60 so I want to go and live my life."
