Legoland horror as ex-paramedic fought to save baby's life after hearing mum's horrifying screams
Retired paramedic Matthew Burns happened to be at the Windsor attraction with his family when a five-month-old boy went into cardiac arrest as he battled to save the infant's life
A retired paramedic who was first on the scene when a baby went into cardiac arrest at Legoland Windsor has spoken of his desperate attempt to save the infant.
Matthew Burns, 60, and another paramedic gave the five-month-old boy CPR for 20 minutes at the theme park until he started breathing again. The baby was then rushed to hospital where he sadly died on Sunday.
A 27-year-old woman from Witham, Essex has been arrested on suspicion of negligence causing unnecessary injury. Officers are now appealing for anyone who was in the queue for the Coastguard HQ ride between 11.30am and 12.45pm on Sunday to come forward with information, and confirmed that they were working "closely" with Legoland staff as part of their investigation.
Mr Burns, who happened to be nearby with his family in a "miracle", said a woman ran over screaming, "help, my baby's in trouble". He said the "blue and floppy" infant had been in a carrier strapped to his mother.
"The other medic had got the boy out of the pouch and had laid him down on top of a bin," he told MailOnline. "It sounds bizarre but we needed a nice flat surface. I said to him, 'I'm a paramedic' and he replied, 'so am I'.
"He did the chest compressions while I looked after the baby's airways. Due to the fact that we were dealing with such a young baby I had to do mouth-to-nose initially. We carried on working on the boy until first aiders from Legoland arrived with the oxygen and a bag of masks and stuff we needed. Just before the ambulances and police turned up, we got a pulse from the boy and he started to make some slight respiratory effort."
The upsetting scenes had unfolded near the Lego Coastguard HQ ride, one of the venue's most popular attractions. A Legoland employee said: "The whole area around the ride was cordoned off. Guests and staff were asked to leave the area and barriers were set up stopping anyone from wandering in. Other rides nearby were closed too. It sounds dramatic, but people were calm. I saw two ambulances drive down towards the ride and one of the vehicles parked directly outside the face-painting stand."
In a statement a Legoland spokesperson hailed the actions of Mr Burns and the other off-duty medic and said: "We are extremely grateful to medically trained members of the public who provided immediate care, alongside our resort first aid team, until the emergency services arrived.
"The guest left the resort in the ambulance for further treatment. We'd like to thank the emergency services for their swift response, and our guests for their cooperation. We will continue to support Thames Valley Police with their ongoing investigation.
DC Eele said: "We are supporting [the family] as best we can at this extremely difficult time. We are working closely with the team at Legoland Windsor Resort but would like to speak to anyone who may have information about this incident, specifically anyone who was queuing for the Coastguard HQ boat ride between around 11.30am and 12.45pm.
"Get in touch either by calling 101 or via our website, quoting reference number INC-20240502-0977. Alternatively, you can provide information anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or via its website.
"We have made an arrest in relation to this incident and are not looking for anyone else as a suspect. I would ask for the public to please avoid speculation about the incident and to respect the boy's family at this deeply upsetting time."