‘Our baby died at nursery now we want all parents to know how he could’ve been saved’

The LifeVac device has already helped to save 1,232 lives, according to its makers and Oliver’s parents want all preschools to have airway clearance kits to hand

The parents of a baby who died after choking on food at a nursery are fundraising to provide all preschools with airway clearance kits.

Lewis Steeper believes son Oliver would be alive today if staff had a LifeVac device. Costing £60 to £80, it works by sucking the obstruction out using a handle attached to an airtight mask – and its makers claim it has already helped to save 1,232 lives. Lewis, a lorry driver from Ashford, Kent, said: “It’s such a simple device but incredibly effective. No power is needed – it’s just one simple hand movement.

“We didn’t know it even existed until we received a message from LifeVac on Facebook shortly after Oliver passed away. It’s blossomed into such a great relationship with the team. “Our mission is to make sure every nursery and childminder in the UK has a LifeVac. “Then once we’ve achieved that, we’ll look at supplying them to schools, care homes and restaurants. “We want to cover the whole of the UK, because anywhere there’s a human, there’s a risk of choking. “We truly believe that if every nursery had one, then Oliver would still be here.”

Oliver was nine months old when he choked on food at Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Kingsnorth, near Ashford, in September 2021. He was placed on life support at Evelina Children’s Hospital in London but died six days later after a heart attack and brain injury. Since then, parents Lewis, 39, and Zoe, a 34-year-old swimming teacher, have had another son, seven-month-old Jake , and launched the Oliver Steeper Foundation to give nurseries free LifeVac tools.