A TEENAGE care home worker was praised for saving the life of a resident who started choking during meal time in May 2008.

Quick-thinking Rebecca Tumilty knew something was wrong when she heard Joe Raine making a strange noise as he ate.

The 18-year-old went straight over to him and started patting him on the back.

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When that did not work she knew more force was need and slapped him until the meat that was stuck in his throat became dislodged and he could breath again.

She said: "I was feeding another resident when I heard I funny noise.

"I looked over he sounded as though he was having breathing difficulties. It was very worrying.

"I tried patting first but then I ended up whacking him as hard as I could until the food came back up."

Miss Tumilty, from north Durham,worked at Hollyacres Care Home in Front Street, Sacriston.

A couple ran three miles to summon a rescue helicopter after seeing a walker plunge down a mountainside, in May 2008.

Walkers Denise Pickard and Dave Clarke could not get a signal on their mobile phone – and were forced to race to a Dales village to call the rescue services.

The pair were walking on Bank Holiday Monday, May 2008, when they saw the man stumble and fall into a ravine at Swinner Gill, in Swaledale, North Yorkshire.

Ms Pickard, 37, an outdoor education worker, said she and her 57-year-old partner had been walking along the upper level route from Swinner Gill Lead Mines to Arngill Scar.

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She said: "We could see some people near the path on the lower route, quite far below us.

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"All of a sudden, one of them plunged down the mountainside. We saw him hit his head on the way down, and we heard the thud when he hit the bottom. It was pretty horrific."

"We sort of half-ran, half-walked and half-stumbled all the way, checking the signal on our mobiles every 20 paces. It was such a relief when we finally made it."