Alton taxi driver dubbed “a hero”

AN Alton taxi driver has been dubbed a hero after racing to the rescue of drivers caught in a three-car pile-up on the A36 near Romsey on Tuesday.

Not only did he administer on-the-spot first aid, but he ended up delivering Meals on Wheels to boot.

Martin Smith (41), managing director of Wessex Cars, was on his way to pick up a passenger from West Wellow when the accident occurred just seconds in front of him. The time was around 7.15 pm.

He stopped, put on his hazard warning lights and ran to help.

Having summed up the situation, Mr Smith detailed the uninjured driver to ring the emergency services before running back to his taxi for the first aid kit.

The most pressing need was to deal with a 19-year-old youth in a Ford car who had blood pumping from his head.

Drawing on skills learnt during his Boy Scout days, Martin Smith used a handful of bandages to make a pressure pad to stem the bleeding, before detailing a bystander to talk to the patient to prevent him losing consciousness.

He then attended to a middle-aged woman in a small Japanese hatchback who had an injured leg. She was unable to move, but was more worried about the meal she had yet to deliver.

Having directed the traffic to keep the road clear for the emergency services and ensuring that the ambulance was on its way, Mr Smith took the name and address of the Meals on Wheels client and jumped back into his car to make the delivery.

"I knew I had found the right place when I spotted an elderly man pacing up and down outside the house waiting for his fish supper," said Mr Smith, who then returned to the site of the accident to ensure that all was going to plan.

He eventually arrived in West Wellow to pick up his fare just half-an-hour after the requested time, having phoned ahead to say he'd been delayed.

While pointing out that this was the first time he'd had occasion to use the taxi first aid kit in seven years, Martin Smith was coy about his actions: "I only did what anybody else would have done in the circumstances. What I was really after was a Blue Peter badge!"