Teenager honoured after saving woman's life in Winchester park

Bonnie Felicity Hodgson had been out celebrating last August and as she was walking past Oram's Arbour, she and a friend heard a shout for help from the park.

They answered the call and found a woman who was unconscious on the ground and barely breathing.

Closer investigation revealed that she had an item tied around her neck.

Attempts to remove the item from the woman’s neck failed, but then another passer-by used his keys to rip through it.

Once it was off, Bonnie checked the woman and found she had no pulse. Emergency services were called and the ambulance control centre gave Bonnie and her friends instructions on how to administer cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

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Bonnie, now 19, said: "I started CPR until she was coughing and she was making noises like she was in pain, but her breathing was not going in and out, so I was told to keep going. Another girl took over and she got her breathing to the point where it was in and out and she was squeezing my hand. 

"Winchester has a hospital but it was 20 minutes away so it felt like a long time, she told us who she was and that she had tried to kill herself. We were just holding her hand making sure she was still breathing."

When Bonnie got home with her friend, the gravity of the situation hit her and she told her parents.

She said: "It was quite an emotional thing." 

Dad Simon was blown away with the way Bonnie handled the dramatic events on what was meant to be a special night so he put her forward for an award. 

Now Bonnie has been awarded a top national life-saving honour, a Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate.

She has also won the personal praise of Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Royal Humane Society.

“Bonnie was the right person in the right place at the right time at the right time,”  he said. “She stayed calm, carried out the instructions from the ambulance controller and as a result the woman lived.

“It was certainly a dramatic way to end an evening celebrating exam results but what an achievement. She saved a life. She was brilliant and richly deserves the award she is to receive.

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“This is another case which emphasises the value of as many people as possible learning how to administer CPR. It can, as it did here, make  the difference between life and death.”

Andrew Chapman (Image: Royal Humane Society)

Bonnie, who learnt her CPR skills through a first aid course and while working as a lifeguard at Alton Sports Centre, said: "I was really proud to get the award. It was nice to get recognised. I didn't do it for any recognition, but it is cool that somebody has noticed." 

Bonnie is now studying for a degree in commercial music at Bath Spa University. 

The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back more than two centuries. It is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan. Their primary motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that numerous people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made depending on the bravery involved.

The Society also awards non-healthcare professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since it was set up the Society has considered over 87,000 cases and made over 200,000 awards. The Society is a registered charity which receives no public funding and is dependent on voluntary donations.