TRIBUTES have been paid to a woman who died after choking on her food in an Indian restaurant.

Helen Marie Peploe was enjoying a meal with her partner, Neil Whitcher, at the Royal Balti House Indian restaurant in Market Street, Farnworth, when she started to choke on a lamb starter.

The 56-year-old rushed to the restaurant toilets, where Mr Whitcher desperately tried to save her life by attempting the Heimlich manoeuvre.

He said: “She was suffocating. I was banging her on the back and I couldn’t get round her properly to do the manoeuvre, I was terrified and panicking and shouting for her to keep fighting.”

Staff called paramedics and the 999 operator gave Mr Whitcher advice on how to help Miss Peploe while he waited for the ambulance to arrive on July 5.

Miss Peploe, of Wigan Road, Deane, was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital, where it was confirmed she had suffered a massive cardiac arrest.

Mr Whitcher said that staff at the hospital were able to remove the piece of meat before putting Miss Peploe into an induced coma and cooling her body to 32C.

The 49-year-old from Little Lever said: “This lasted for 24 hours and then they warmed her up and wanted to see if she could wake up. We were told at this stage that she would most likely have suffered some form of brain damage.

“Then they did a number of tests and the last check they did was to see if she could breathe on her own. She took one breath, which gave us some hope and convinced them to give her another 24 hours on life support.

“But when they tried again there was nothing and the machine was turned off at 2.20pm on Monday, July 8.”

Devastated Mr Whitcher, who had been in a relationship with Miss Peploe since 2005, has paid tribute to his partner, who he described as “a lover of life, with a wicked sense of humour, who will be sorely missed”.

He added: “She could also be quite mischievous, she used to run me ragged but she was loved by so many people.

“Lots of people have been devastated to hear what has happened to Helen and I just miss her so much, we were extremely close.

“I still can’t actually believe it’s happened — I feel like I’m in the middle of a bad dream.”

Iqbal Bhuiyam, manager of The Royal Balti House, said: “We are all deeply sad, stunned and shocked and want to express sympathy to the family.”

Bolton Coroner’s Office confirmed that an inquest into the cause of Miss Peploe’s death has been arranged for October 3.

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE IS CHOKING - Stand slightly behind the person to one side. If you are right-handed, stand to the left. If you are left-handed, stand to the right.

- Support their chest with one hand.

- Lean the person forward so that the object blocking their airway will come out of their mouth, rather than going further down.

- Give up to five sharp blows between the person’s shoulder blades with the heel of your hand.

- Stop after each blow to check if the blockage has cleared.

- If not, give up to five abdominal thrusts, which is also known as the Heimlich manoeuvre.

- This involves standing behind the person who is choking, placing your arms around their waist and bending them well forward. You should then clench your fist and place it right above the person's navel. Then, place your other hand on top, thrust both hands backwards into their stomach with a hard, upward movement.

- Stop after each thrust to check if the blockage has cleared.

- If the person’s airway is still blocked after three cycles of back blows and abdominal thrusts, should send for help, or dial 999.