A bin loader at Windsor whose quick thinking saved a baby's life has been named as a 'national hero'.

Luke Brown had just finished loading wheelie bins in Osborne Road, Windsor when he saw a woman get out of a car clearly in distress. She was shouting that her baby was not breathing. Luke rushed straight over to the car and saw that the child’s lips had turned purple.

He said: "Thanks to a specialist first aid course and British Red Cross training I received for the Veolia contract, I knew exactly what to do.’ He sprang into action and used his first aid skills to clear the baby’s blocked airway before the paramedics arrived.

Afterwards the paramedics said Luke’s quick thinking had almost certainly saved the baby’s life, something that he says he would not hesitate to repeat if the situation ever arose again.

Regional director of the Veolia refuse collection company Ben Slater said: ‘Luke is a great ambassador for Veolia. I am proud of his achievement beyond the call of duty, his quick thinking and the way he used his experienced life-saving skills to save the day’.

He received his Veolia National Hero Award at a ceremony in the city of London from Falklands hero Simon Weston and executive vice-president of Veolia UK & Ireland Gavin Graveson.

During the evening Simon Weston gave an inspirational, moving and at times funny recollection of his time serving in the Falklands War on the Sir Galahad when it was destroyed,