The father of a young girl whose mum collapsed in the street has blasted those who ignored her pleas for help.
Lexi Longden, nine, was walking home after shopping with her mum Leanne early on Saturday evening when Leanne suffered a seizure close to the Tesco petrol station in Hattersley, Tameside.
As Leanne lay half on and half off the kerb, Lexi ran over to the forecourt to get help. But her dad Billy says she was either ignored or people said they were 'too busy'.
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Unsure of what to do, the youngster called Billy, who set off in his van to pick them up, but told her to go back and ask again.
"I was about a 10 or 15 minute drive away so I presumed that when I got there someone would have been there helping Lexi," said Billy, 35, a self employed window cleaner. "But when I got there Lexi was still on her own with her mum.
"She'd called me to tell me what had happened so I said 'go and get help', but she said 'daddy, nobody is helping me'. At one point she said 'mum's dead', but I said 'no she's not, she just needs to come back round.
"She'd gone back asking people a couple of times saying 'excuse me, can you help' and from the petrol station they would have been able to see Leanne on the floor as the path is right next to it.
"I just can't believe that nobody would help her. It's just sad really."
Eventually, once Billy had arrived, one man came over and helped him put Leanne in the van and a member of staff from Tesco came out.
Leanne, who also has a 15 and 16-year-old with Billy, has been suffering seizures since last summer and is undergoing to tests to find out what is causing them. It's not the first time Lexi has been on hand to help. In September the Arundale Primary School pupil had to call an ambulance after her mum collapsed at home.
"She's been so brave," said Leanne, also 35, who's had to take sick leave from her job as a carer because of the seizures, which are happening at least once a week."
"I had the first one in August," she added. "I don't know if they were brought on by Covid as I had that a few weeks before but it's being looked at.
"I just feel sorry for Lexi as she tried so hard to help. She hurt her hand as she was protecting my head as it was hitting the floor. She said 'I tried to get help but nobody came'.
"She's OK, she's strong and she just gets on with it, but it's sad that she was left alone to deal with it for so long."
She added: "I just want to raise awareness as not many people know what to do in that situation. You need to make sure they're in a safe place, make sure that they don't bang their head and keep them calm, but don't hold them down as it can be dangerous. Time the seizure if you can and ring 999 and put them in recovery position."
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