Builders merchant driver saves customer’s life

A driver from builders and timber merchant Jewson saved the life of an elderly woman he found slumped on her kitchen floor when he tried to deliver her parcel.

When Dave Shearer knocked ‘Bunty’ Petty’s door in Somerset to deliver the item she has ordered from Jewson there was no answer.

However, he could hear groans coming from the kitchen and went to check everything was okay.

If he hadn’t, Bunty says she ‘wouldn’t be here’.

Petty’s daughter, Diane, said: “He knocked on the door and there was no answer. She must have left the door unlocked or open as she was waiting for the delivery, and the weather has been so warm.

“He found her slumped on the floor, in the middle of having a stroke.

“He called the ambulance and stayed with her until they arrived, which luckily was only a few minutes. He kept her talking and moving as she was conscious.

“He didn’t have to do any of that, and the family is so grateful to him.”

Shearer, who has worked for Jewsons for 18 years, says he was ‘just doing his job’.

“I’m qualified in first aid, so when I heard the groans I knew something wasn’t right,” he said.

“I called the ambulance and kept her comfortable, I don’t get panicked in these situations.

“I was just doing my job.

“I am so please she has recovered. Fortune was looking out for her that morning.”

Shearer’s actions will also be recognised in the company’s magazine, Job Lot.