A WAITER who came to the rescue of a customer who was choking on food and could not breathe has been awarded by police.

Sheikh Rifat, 24, who works at the Bangor Tandoori, was visited by North Wales Police officers and mayor of Bangor Owen Hurcum to hand over a Certificate of Appreciation for his heroic actions last month.

"Shaeakh Rifat received a presentation from a number of guests attending a ceremony at Bangor Tandoori yesterday," a post on the NWP Gwynedd North page said.

"He was thanked for his heroic actions after he recently helped a man who was choking, therefore saving his life.

"We were privileged to be invited to thank Shaeakh Rifat and congratulate him on his first aid skills.

"It is hoped that he will one day join North Wales Police and be part of the policing team in Bangor. We wish him well with his application."

Rifat, a Bangor University master's student, was going about his work “like every normal night” when he noticed something was seriously wrong with one individual in a group.

“I had just served food and I began to look around, asking customers if they are alright and enjoying their food. Everyone was gossiping and having a good chat,” he said.

“I went to the till and then I saw that something was very wrong with a customer.”

Rifat said the customer, Jake Snelling, “couldn’t breathe and his face went red”.

“There were tears coming out from his eyes and it took two to three seconds to realise what had happened.”

While Jake’s friends were unsure how to respond, Rifat took action and told the struggling customer to stand up. He then proceeded to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre.

“I pulled him out from the chair, brought him into the corridor and put my hands round his chest very tightly,” said Rifat, manager at the restaurant. I shook him hard a few times and after a few attempts the food came out.”

Jake gave Rifat a signal to say that he was OK and his friends began to clap for the waiter’s heroic effort as he went bar to get his customer glass of water.

“After that he ate the food again, so it must have been nice,” joked Rifat, who is due to begin studying international business law at BPP University.

“When I was a kid, my dad had done the same thing with me in an emergency,” he said.

“You don’t really think about it; it is subconscious.”

Speaking about the incident to BBC Radio Wales, Jake Snelling said: "I'd been with some friends, we'd just been up to the mountains for the weekend to do some exploring.

"We were feeling quite proud of ourselves and thought we would treat ourselves to a curry.

"All was going well, the food was lovely, great atmosphere, and then disaster struck.

"It was so lucky Rifat was there."