TWO heroic supermarket staff were ‘just doing their job’ when they saved the life of a baby who had swallowed his tongue whilst shopping with his family.

In March, while on a shift like any other in Asda at Worsbrough, employees Jackie Walker and Chris Nevin were thrown into a horrifying situation when they realised the one-year-old child of a shopper was having a seizure.

Lucy Barkham was doing her weekly shop with her partner Calum and three children when her youngest, Ronnie, suffered a febrile convulsion - a seizure caused by a high fever - and swallowed his tongue.

Jackie and Chris rushed to Ronnie’s aid, saving the youngster’s life.

“I was just working on the till near the front of the shop,” 63-year-old Jackie told the Chronicle.

“I heard this massive scream and someone called for me saying a baby can’t breathe - I’d worked in a care home before going to Asda, so they thought I could help.

“When I got there I put my finger in his mouth to check and see if there was anything stuck.

“He’d partly swallowed his tongue - I managed to get it out and his colour started to come back.

“I told someone to call an ambulance and help the mum.”

While on the phone with paramedics, Ronnie swallowed his tongue again, forcing Jackie to jump to his rescue for a second time.

Meanwhile, Chris - who’s retired and had only been working at the store for six months at the time - provided assistance, trusting Jackie’s experience as she ‘took the lead’.

“I was stacking shelves at the time, dog food actually,” the 70-year-old said.

“I saw the family before, one of them was wearing some kind of Superman costume so I was having some banter with them.

“They went round the corner and that’s when I heard the mother screaming - I ran down and she said ‘it’s the baby’.

“I’ve been in similar situations before, I’ve been in the fire service and was a psychiatric nurse but never had it with a baby - It intensifies the whole thing.

“It was touch and go.”

Ronnie was rushed to Barnsley Hospital where doctors diagnosed a throat infection which caused him to have a high temperature and the seizure.

But, if it wasn’t for Jackie and Chris’ quick-thinking and calm response to the emergency, he may not have survived till paramedics arrived.

“It was quite an experience, we usually just deal with shoplifters,” Jackie added.

“At the time adrenaline just kicked in - afterwards I had to sit down and have a cup of tea, I was a bit shaky.

“I’ve got seven grandkids so I think that helped - parents go into blind panic but as a grandparent you tend to be a bit calmer and get things sorted.”

The pair have been nominated for the Community Hero award at this year’s Proud of Barnsley.

Chris said: “It was kind of a shock at the time but you’ve got to do something.

“You don’t do it for any recognition, you just do it because you see how serious the situation is

“People have stopped me on the street and said ‘you’re a hero’ - but at the time you’re just trying to do the right thing.

“Working at Asda was quite the experience - afterwards it was as if nothing had happened.

“I saw Jackie stacking shelves after and asked how she’s doing and she just said: ‘it’s another day at Asda’.”