A police community support officer (PCSO) has received a commendation for saving the life of an elderly woman in Ilford town centre.

Ilford resident Naz Toofail was recognised for her professionalism, compassion and dedication to the preservation of life during the incident in October 2020 on Ilford High Road.

Naz, from the Ilford Town Neighbourhoods team, had been dealing with a separate incident on the road when she was approached by a postman who alerted her to an unconscious woman.

Upon seeing that the woman was not breathing and that her eyes were rolling, Naz called for back-up and administered CPR, which was eventually effective in resuscitating the woman.

Naz said: “I’m very professional, I knew my first aid training, what I have been taught and I made use of it to save someone’s life.

"This is the biggest happiness for me and I’m proud.”

The woman was taken to hospital, but died days later.

Naz told the Recorder that she has since been visited by members of the woman’s family, who thanked Naz for giving them more time with her.

She has been a PCSO since 2002 and said that she enjoyed working in the community and building good relationships between the public and the police.

She added: “I love my job and I am passionate about my job – I'm very dedicated and I look forward to coming to work every day because I am always dealing with different things, challenging, rewarding, and I would never want to leave this job or go for promotion.

“I don’t need promotions, I’m happy with the role I’m doing because my role involves the whole community.

“I want to build a strong relationship with them, help reduce crime, make Ilford a safer place to live and work, and work hard to build trust with members of the public.”

This is Naz’s second commendation, having received one in 2011 for administering CPR on a two-year-old child.

Naz’s husband and son also work for the police, as a detective sergeant and British Transport Police officer respectively.

Another son, eight, also wants to become a detective, she said.

Naz revealed that her husband has also received two commendations and admitted there is a friendly competition between the two to get a third.