The television show Holby City helped a Mitcham mum save her baby's life when she revived him with a technique she had seen on the medical drama.

Noeline Muyanja, 34, of Tamworth Park, was frantic when her son, one-year-old Tito, had an unexpected fit and stopped breathing late one night in June.

With her husband at work, and three other young children in the house, Mrs Muyanja was distraught.

After running outside and screaming for help, she suddenly remembered the mouth-to-mouth techniques used on her favourite TV programme.

She said: "He was stiff as a board and I was shouting like a crazy woman, but no one had heard me.

"Then this feeling of calm came over me and I realised I could try and help him myself.

"I starting blowing into his mouth, and pressing his chest, like I'd seen on TV. I did this three times, and he started to cough and his eyes began to move again."

An ambulance arrived - summoned by Mrs Muyanja's quick-thinking 10-year-old daughter Louise - and took Tito and his mum to St Helier Hospital.

His high fever gradually went down, and he was discharged three days later.

Although the toddler was out of the woods after she resuscitated him, Mrs Muyanja said she could not bring herself to believe he was all right.

She now wants to thank the scores of neighbours and strangers who filed out of their houses to come to her aid and calm her down during the panic.

"It was around midnight and there must have been about 50 people in the street," she said. "A lovely lady who I'd never seen before held Tito in her arms and told me he was going to be OK. And my neighbour Pat stayed with my other children while we went to hospital. The ambulance crew were so kind too. I've been trying to knock on people's doors and thank everybody, but I can't reach all of them."

Hearing of the show's part in the story, a Holby City spokeswoman said: "We were thrilled, although we would recommend our viewers to take a first aid course rather than relying on our storylines, to be on the safe side."