A police sergeant from Croydon who saved a little girl's life after she had become trapped at the bottom of a swimming pool for ten minutes has been presented with an award.
MPS Police Sergeant David Sutton was presented with a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum and Resuscitation Certificate by Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey at a ceremony at New Scotland Yard on Wednesday.
Sergeant Sutton was using the swimming pool whilst on holiday at a hotel in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in August last year when his wife Joanne saw a child had been under water for a long time. Sergeant Sutton immediately swam to the bottom of the pool, which was about five foot deep, and found an eight-year-old girl trapped and lifeless.
Sergeant Sutton saw that her head had become stuck under a ledge that went around the bottom of the pool and tried to free her but she was trapped. After swimming to the surface to call for help and take a breath Sergeant Sutton found that the girl's long hair had become tangled in an air pump and he could not free her.
He swam to the surface again to shout for some scissors and someone passed him some shearing scissors. Sergeant Sutton dived back underwater and tried to cut through the girl's hair to free her, having to stop for air several times.
At this point a member of the hotel staff, Mario got into the pool to help. After about four attempts Sergeant Sutton managed to cut through the hair and he and Mario lifted the little girl onto the side of the pool.
By this time the eight-year-old had been underwater for about ten minutes and was blue and not breathing. Sergeant Sutton could find no trace of a pulse or any signs of life so he told Mario to start chest compressions whilst he cleared her airway and administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The little girl soon started to breath but it was laboured and she was still unconscious.
Sergeant Sutton said: "I just did what needed doing. There was nothing "brave or heroic" about it. I was never in any danger. It was my wife who first saw the girl on the bottom of the pool. Had she not alerted me, the outcome would have been very different.
After about ten minutes an ambulance arrived and she was taken to hospital. The girl was critically ill and was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and placed in an induced coma before she finally gained consciousness and was able to speak with her parents.
Two days later the eight-year-old was moved to the children's ward. She went home on the 17 August 2013.
"For me, it was probably more about 35 years of Met training kicking in and doing something, and getting other people to do what I told them. I am pleased it worked as it was a very close call I am told. I have done CPR a few times over my service; this is the only one that has been successful. It is however very satisfying to know that there is now a child alive because I did what I have been taught," Sergeant Sutton said.
