A mum has praised the Great North Air Ambulance Service for saving her little girl’s life, saying that their family will be “forever in their debt”.

Last Sunday, six-year-old Rosie Pender was visiting her grandparents in Haydon Bridge.

Rosie, her parents Amy and Jake, and younger sister Sadie were making the journey from their home in Brampton when they noticed Rosie’s asthma was getting worse.

Mum Amy Irving said: “We were driving from Carlisle to Haydon Bridge and noticed Rosie’s asthma was quite bad but nothing out of the ordinary.

“But within 10 minutes of arriving at her grandparents’ house we had to call 999 because she couldn’t breathe.”

A rapid response paramedic was soon at the home in Langley Gardens and Rosie had to be put on a ventilator.

The paramedic called for an ambulance but none were available and was forced to call the air ambulance as Rosie was falling in and out of consciousness.

“It was a really scary time,” Amy said. “I was a wreck and thought that Rosie was going to die. The paramedic was breathing for her and keeping her alive. 

"If the paramedic and air ambulance hadn’t responded so quickly I don’t think Rosie would be here now. When they said there were no ambulances my heart sank but the air ambulance came within 10 minutes.”

It took two hours to stabilise Rosie and she was airlifted to the RVI in Newcastle when it was safe to do so.

The family couldn’t go in the helicopter and had to drive to the hospital, something Amy described as awful. “I kept thinking, how are we going to explain this to her little sister?” she said.

“I just had to think positive. Rosie’s very strong-minded and I had to keep thinking that she would pull through.”

Rosie spent three days in intensive care and is now looking forward to going back to school to see her friends.

Amy said: “I can’t believe that only a week ago Rosie was fighting for her life and now we’ve got our little girl back who’s full of attitude. “Without the air ambulance we would not have our girl. It could have been a totally different story.”