Family of Burnley grandmother say thanks to ' remarkable and dedicated' care home worker for saving her life

Laura Foulds, who is the activities co-ordinator at The Grove care home, has been presented with a special contribution award from Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham after she was nominated by the family of Eileen Carroll.

They wanted to see the 29-year-old recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty when Eileen, who was a daily visitor to the home to see her husband Joe, failed to turn up on the couple's 59th wedding anniversary.

Laura said: "Eileen visited Joe daily and sometimes twice a day so when she didn't appear on their anniversary I got a bit worried as she had been planning to take him out for lunch.

"I stayed on after my shift but she still didn't appear so I decided to call at her house on the way home."

Believing that Eileen (79) may be out with friends after her weekly stint of cleaning at St Matthew's Church, Laura went home. But she couldn't rest and returned to Eileen's home later that evening.

Laura said: "I thought she may be in bed so didn't want to frighten her."

The next morning Laura went round to Eileen's again on her way to work and later with a colleague and her manager.

Laura, who has worked at The Grove since she was 18, said: "My manager put her hand through the letterbox and felt all the post behind it.

"We knocked on neighbours' doors and no-one had seen Eileen so we knew something was wrong."

Laura called police who broke the door down to find Eileen collapsed on her bathroom floor. She was rushed to hospital where she spent several weeks recovering after suffering the stroke in March last year.

Elaine Ninnis, who is Eileen's niece, nominated Laura for the award and said the whole family were 'eternally grateful' for her actions that day.

She said: "Laura saved my aunt's life and my whole family are so grateful to her, how can we possibly thank her enough?

"I had rung my aunt a couple of times and there was no reply but as she used to be very active and was always out and about somewhere so it was not unusual for her not to be in.

"But Laura was persistent and had a feeling something wasn't right and that is what saved my aunt's life."

After leaving hospital Eileen, who spent several years working at the former Benn's leather and toy shop in Burnley, moved into The Grove and shared a room with her husband until he died in August.