A WOMAN needed hospital treatment after a stranger performed unnecessary first aid on her.

Jean Reilly, of Fleetwood, suffered two broken ribs and bruising to her spleen when the man went to her aid with the Heimlich manoeuvre, thinking she was choking on a meal.

Ms Reilly, who cancelled a holiday to recover, said people should not carry out first aid if unsure how to do it.

She is unlikely to be compensated because no one can identify the stranger who thought he was helping her.