'Strangers saved my son from tracks after seizure'

What should have been a day to remember nearly turned into a nightmare for one family in Peterborough.

Noah, 15, was coming home from birthday celebrations when he had an ecliptic seizure and fell on the railway tracks at the city's station on Easter Sunday.

Mum Tammy said shortly after the family got off the 20:00 BST service from London, she heard screaming and realised her son was under the train.

Fearing the train would move, she pulled the alarm, while her partner, Cris and a member of the public worked to move him off the track.

"Seizures at any time and in any place are horrendously scary, adding to that it being a public place... it was surreal," Tammy said.

"But the amount of people who stepped up to help us without any prompting was just amazing to see."

Train enthusiast Noah has a history of experiencing seizures, but he had been seizure-free for three years before the incident, the family said.

He was returning from a silent disco at The Natural History Museum as part of birthday celebrations with his mum, step-dad and 12-year-old sister, Brooke.

Tammy said: "We got off the train and I was walking ahead with our daughter, and Cris, my partner and Noah were behind us. I then heard screaming and turned around, thinking somebody's fallen, while scanning the crowd for Noah - and then the sinking feeling of realising it was Noah under there [train].

"I saw Cris helping him and screaming for me. I just ran, threw my bag, my phone, everything and went towards the train.

"As far as I was concerned at that point, the main danger was the train starting. So, I was there, was punching the alarm so that it[train] couldn't move any more."

Cris said as soon as he realised Noah was having a seizure, he reached out towards him, but Noah's "legs gave away and propelled him towards the train".

He added: "I just got to him as he disappeared over the edge. His shoe came off- it was the only thing I could grab [as he fell]."

"By this point, there was now a crowd around, and I could hear people panicking about the train.

"We got him up, but he was still in seizure - he had turned blue because he holds his breath."

Cris said many people offered them assistance. The family particularly recalled an off-duty police officer and his wife, who was a nurse, along with station staff, really coming to "our rescue".

"There were two young lads as well who we might never ever find out who they were...stood with Brooke while she was sat down and were talking to her.

"We could sit here all day and kind of reel off the people we want to thank...It really restores your faith in humanity."

Noah received some scratches to his back from the fall and was taken to hospital for further checks, but is recovering well, mum Tammy said.

She added: "It's surreal that we actually went through that. We've talked about it at great length, and we're just thankful that we got the outcome that we got."

Cris said the family could not have coped without the help of others and passed on their "special gratitude" to the station staff.

London North Eastern Railways (LNER), which manages Peterborough railway station, said seven members of staff assisted by calling paramedics, handing out blankets, offering first-aid and booking and paying for a taxi to take the family to hospital.

LNER spokesperson Joshua Chapman said staff acted "imminently", adding that "they called Network Rail controls to ensure no trains moved across the station while the incident was ongoing".

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