A 72-YEAR-OLD Ilkley woman is urging everyone to learn first aid after a stranger saved her from choking.

Connie Bedworth had been for a walk on Ilkley Moor and was enjoying a meal in the Cow and Calf pub with a friend on Tuesday, June 12 at around 3pm when a piece of beef got lodged in her throat.

"I stood up and could not breathe or speak," she said. "Three women were sitting by me and a young woman did the Heimlich manoeuvre on me. She had two goes and on the second time the food popped out. It all happened in less than a minute but a minute is a long time when you can't breathe. It took me a few minutes to get my breath back but I did eat the rest of my meal."

All Connie knows is the young woman was called Hattie and was from East Keswick and was celebrating her 22nd birthday that day. "It is one she won't forget," added Connie. "I asked her how she knew what to do and she told me it was from girl guides when they had the St John Ambulance teach them and she did it perfectly.

"It was a life-saving action. I feel very thankful and she deserves to be proud of herself."