Mayor's husband in 999 drama

5:15pm Friday 3rd October 2008

Comments (10)   Have your say »

THE mayor of Warminster has praised a 999 crew for helping her husband, who collapsed after suffering an allergic reaction at their home.

Cllr Veronica Burden's husband Tony had been outside gardening when he had a serious reaction and began to itch all over.

Within five minutes his face and neck began to swell, leaving him struggling for breath.

"He went spotty all over and was scratching. His lips swelled up, then his eyelids and throat," said Cllr Burden.

"The fright of it all was that it all happened so quickly. I thought he was just not going to breathe any more.

"You think to yourself, this really is it. We really didn't know what to do. He is in his 70s so I thought it might be it."

The mayor explained how Mr Burden, 73, looked like a monkey from the African jungle' with such a swollen face.

Warminster's retained fire crew were on their way back from a job in Codford helping an elderly man stuck in his home, when they got a call to attend the incident at Cllr Burden's house in Norton Bavant at about 5pm. They arrived within minutes to offer assistance.

The mayor praised their efforts and said: "I didn't know the fire brigade in Warminster were so highly trained. The skills that those guys have are tremendous.

"They all knew what they were doing. Does the community know how skilled our fire crews really are?"

Retained fire officer and CCTV rooms supervisor Steve Howell was given a particular mention for his calm advice and assistance.

Mr Burden was taken by ambulance to Salisbury District Hospital but was later released and is now at home recovering.

He has been told to stay out of the garden until the cause of the allergy has been established.

Chris Trimby, Warminster's retained fire station manager, said: "We are just happy to do what we can, when we can. We were there monitoring the situation and making sure it didn't develop into anything more serious."