Eyes and ears

Sudbury postman Luke Simpson was delivering to a block of flats when he saw a woman lying prone in the middle of the road.

When he instinctively ran over to see if she was ok, he quickly recognised her as one of his regular customers from across the road.

‘She said she had been run over,’ said Luke. ‘I could see that she was really struggling with her breathing, so I put her in the recovery position and rang for an ambulance.

‘While we were waiting for the paramedics, the young lady had three convulsions. It was really scary. Each time she had a fit, I put her back in the recovery position and checked her airway. I was afraid that she might swallow her tongue.’

When a member of the public appeared and offered to help, Luke sent him to get a defibrillator from the nearby town centre.

‘I was with the young lady for around 20 minutes before the paramedics arrived and took over,’ he said. ‘They thanked me for what I had done and I later found out that the lady was okay and stable.

‘I’m really glad I was there and able to help. It makes you think. It could have ended a lot differently if I hadn’t managed to act so quickly.’

Our people do so much more than deliver the mail, regularly going the extra mile to serve the communities they deliver to all year round.

Sudbury delivery office manager, Rebecca Greenfield, said: ‘Myself and the management team are very proud of Luke. This is the second occasion where he’s assisted a member of the public in a medical emergency. He really does go above and beyond and is a model postman.’