A fisherman who almost died when a six-inch Dover sole he had just caught jumped down his throat has admitted today he was kissing it.
Sam Quilliam, 28, made the confession while giving a news conference at Boscombe Pier, Dorset, where paramedics had saved him from choking to death on the slippery fish’s barbs.
He was found having a cardiac arrest, causing him to stop breathing for three minutes, on October 5 when an ambulance crew arrived.
They were told he had put the fish over his mouth as a joke but it had managed to wriggle free and lodged itself in his throat, leaving him unable to breathe.
Fisherman Sam Qulliam (right, holding the fish he swallowed) almost died when a six-inch Dover sole he had just caught jumped down his throat. He admitted today that he was kissing it. He was saved by paramedic Matt Harrison (pictured with him today)
Mr Quilliam was found having a cardiac arrest on Boscombe pier in Bournemouth by medics on October 5
Mr Quilliam’s friends Steve Perry and Matt Holmes saved his life by giving him CPR before an ambulance paramedic, Matt Harrison, used forceps to yank the flat fish out of the back of his throat.
After making a full recovery, Mr Quilliam returned to Boscombe Pier to thank his friends and the ambulance staff who saved him.
He said the fish had been too small to keep but before he threw it back into the sea he joked about with it in front of his five mates.
Mr Quilliam, from Dibden Purlieu in the New Forest, said: ‘I picked it up and went to give it a kiss before I threw it back.
‘It got out of my hands and into my mouth and basically swam straight down my throat.
‘I ran round the pier like a headless chicken and then passed out. It was terrifying from what I remember.
‘Steve and Matt and the paramedics did a great job to save my life. I could have easily died and I feel very lucky to be here.’
‘I feel much better now, it’s like beyond winning the lottery. Me and my family are really grateful.’
Mr Quilliam had put the fish over his mouth ‘as a joke’ but it had managed to wriggle free and lodged itself in his throat, leaving him unable to breathe. He has suffered ‘no lasting effects’ from the ordeal
Turning to paramedic Mr Harrison, who helped save him, he added: ‘Thank you, you are a credit to the NHS.’
Friend Steve Perry, 27, said he and Matt Holmes acted on instinct when they helped revive Sam.
Steve said: ‘It was just sheer panic, it was horrendous. We reacted on our instincts. Matt was pumping his chest and I was doing the breaths. He was dead, his heart had stopped. I was so relieved when he came round.
‘People have joked about it since but it wasn’t a joke. He could have died, he could have had severe brain damage. We just thank God he is still here.’
Steve added: ‘Sam and I are kind of even now, he stopped me falling off the edge of a rock when we were fishing once.
The paramedic tried to dislodge the fish with forceps but that fish’s barbs and gills got caught as it was pulled up his throat. Eventually on a sixth attempt, the fish was pulled out whole. (Mr Qulliam, pictured)
‘He thanked me for saving him. We’ve had a lot of man hugs.’
At the time of the bizarre incident, witness Carl Smith, 31, also fishing there at the time, said: ‘The man joked, ‘This sole is bite-size’ and held it above his open mouth.
‘But it slipped from his fingers straight to the back of his throat.
‘He panicked, ran down the pier then hit the deck. He couldn’t talk and we knew he was choking.’
Mr Harrison tried to dislodge the fish with forceps but that fish’s barbs and gills got caught as it was pulled up his throat.
Eventually on a sixth attempt the fish was pulled out whole.
Mr Quilliam has suffered ‘no lasting effects’ from the ordeal. His father, Mark Quilliam, told MailOnline that Sam was ‘absolutely fine’.
Mr Harrison said: ‘I have never attended a more bizarre incident and don’t think I ever will – but we’re all so glad the patient has no lasting effects from his cardiac arrest, which could so easily have had such a tragic and devastating outcome.
‘It was clear that we needed to get the fish out or this patient was not going to survive the short journey to Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
‘I used a laryngoscope to fully extend the mouth and throat and saw what appeared like an altered colour of tissue in his throat.
‘Using a McGills forceps I was able to eventually dislodge the tip of the tail and very carefully, so as not to break the tail off I tried to remove it – although the fish’s barbs and gills were getting stuck on the way back up.
‘I was acutely aware that I only had one attempt at getting this right as if I lost grip or a piece broke off and it slid further out of sight then there was nothing more that we could have done to retrieve the obstruction.’
Witness Carl Smith, 31, also fishing there at the time, said: ‘The man joked, ‘This sole is bite-size’ and held it above his open mouth.’ Above, Boscombe pier