Glasgow mum saved little girl's life after she fell into pond at Victoria Park

A woman has told STV News how she saved a little girl’s life after she fell into a pond at a Glasgow park.

Victoria Crane, 27, was at Victoria Park in the west end on Tuesday celebrating her birthday with her daughters, when her instincts were called into action to save a young child’s life.

“We were just having some food on the grass when I saw an older gentleman pull a wee girl from the water”, she recalled.

“My instincts kicked in – I ran over and he handed her to me, and I immediately put her in the recovery position. I was vigorously rubbing her back trying to get any water out.”

The child eventually brought up a lot of water and foam, after which Victoria alerted her family and phoned an ambulance.

“She kept falling in and out of consciousness.”

She then stripped the girl of her soaking clothes, wrapped her in her mum’s jacket and continued trying to bring up more water.

“I was on the phone with the ambulance as she kept falling in and out of consciousness.

“The whole ordeal went on for about 15 to 20 minutes, as the operator told me to check her airways for any blockages – but I couldn’t get her mouth open, it was almost locked shut.”

“Her colour was fading, her lips were turning blue.”

A few minutes before the ambulance arrived, the girl’s chest was no longer rising and she stopped breathing.

“Mum could see it so I was trying to keep calm as I started CPR on her. Her colour was fading, her lips were turning blue.”

After about 30 chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth, thankfully the little girl let out a groan and started breathing again.

The ambulance arrived immediately after, and Victoria handed her over to the medics – she was told that she had saved the little girl’s life.

“I was completely focused during it – I knew I had to use my knowledge to save her and stay calm for mum, but as soon as it was over I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

As the adrenaline washed away, Victoria was left feeling like she was having a panic attack. She has not been able to sleep properly since the incident.

“As soon as it was over, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

“I keep thinking, you know, about the ‘what-if’s. ‘What if the man hadn’t pulled her out?’, or ‘what if I hadn’t know basic safety training?, or ‘what if I wasn’t there?’

“As a mum, its really scary to think about the worst case scenario, but you can’t really stop sometimes – especially when something like this happens.”

The mum of two also said that people who judged the girl’s parents were wrong to do so.

“I know what it’s like to have a toddler. It takes a split-second for things to go wrong very quickly.

“The parents will undoubtedly already have been very hard on themselves, it isn’t fair to add to that burden.”

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson confirmed the incident, saying: “We received a call at 3.17pm on July 26 to attend an incident at Victoria Park.

“We dispatched five resources to the scene, including our special operations team and trauma team, and transferred one patient to hospital.”