Lowestoft shop workers praised for saving customer caller

Two "Christmas angels" have been praised for rescuing a customer who collapsed during a telephone call.

Margaret Davis was on the line to Lowestoft Hughes Electrical worker Saffron Bygrave before she was heard to scream, suffering a fall.

Ms Bygrave told how she alerted store manager Steve Lambert who tracked Ms Davis down and called for an ambulance.

The 71-year-old's sister, Maria Fitzgerald, told BBC Radio Suffolk the shop staff "saved her life".

Ms Bygrave told how she heard a "massive scream" on the phone as Ms Davis inquired about a new TV for Christmas on 3 December.

"We tried contacting her, we tried and tried and tried, but we just couldn't get through," the sales assistant said.

She said it was a "massive worry" when she could not get through to her after "about 10 to 15 attempts" calling her back.

Mr Lambert and he could see "by the panic on her face that something wasn't right".

They said they found Ms Davis' address after searching the shop's database on the off chance she had made past purchases.

Mr Lambert said he could "immediately hear her call out" when he arrived at her home and phoned for an ambulance and the police.

Ms Davis was on the floor in "a very uncomfortable position", he said, and he could not move her as "there was a chance she'd probably broken something".

"I stayed there and she seemed to be calm if I was sitting down on the floor with her and just sort of holding her hand," he said.

"She squeezed my hand when she was in pain. It just helped her, helped her keep relaxed."

Maria Fitzgerald said Mr Lambert stayed with her sister for five hours.

"I am emotional at the moment," she said.

"What he did, he stayed with my sister, he waited for the ambulance, he spoke to the ambulance team.

"And not only did he do that, he phoned my sister's daughter at work, who is also vulnerable, and explained to her 'don't worry but I'm with your mother and she's had a fall and we're waiting for an ambulance'".

She said Ms Bygrave "saved her sister's life" because "she would've been on the floor all that time in distress and pain".

"We just can't thank him enough, and Saffron, for what they did."

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