A POOLE tyre fitter is lucky to be alive after he was saved from choking thanks to the quick actions of his boss and a pregnant customer.

Matt Elston, 20, was chomping on a chewy sweet while at work on Monday afternoon when it became lodged in his throat.

Matt desperately sought help at Chris Watts Autos in Ringwood Road in Parkstone and customer Jessica Fudge, 25, and boss Chris sprung into action and tried to move the sweet by slapping Matt repeatedly on the back.

But when that didn’t work, Jessica showed Chris how to perform the Heimlich Manoeuvre – a skill she had learned from her role at Postman Pat Pre-school in Canford Heath.

Jessica, who is 16 weeks pregnant and lives in Branksome, said: “He just couldn’t breathe.

“It was horrible.

“He came running out into the car park in trouble and then he started bending over making choking noises. The sweet was stuck really far down.”

Chris added: “I didn’t know how to do the manoeuvre so Jessica showed me.

“I was a good job she was there.

“It took about seven or eight attempts, by the last time I really started to panic that it was never going to come out.”

Matt, who says he lives on sweets and biscuits, said: “I eat sweets all day long and this has never happened before.

“It was lucky Jessica was there because I was in real trouble.”

Colleague Lee Barker saw the drama unfold. She said: “He was blue in the face. He was like a fish out of water – that’s the only way I can describe it.”

Now relieved boss Chris has offered Jessica a free MOT test to thank her for her skills.