HEROES who saved the life of a south Warwickshire cyclist have been honoured for their quick-thinking.
A cyclist collapsed just five miles short of completing a 45-mile ride with his cycling club near Hampton Lucy and was having a suspected cardiac arrest.
Retired nurse Tracey Rutter and cycle club member Fiona Jolly helped give first aid, alongside off duty police officers PC Faye Gardner and PC Sam Long who had gone to the man’s aid on their way back home from the Two Castles Run last June.
After medics arrived the man was rushed to hospital where, with his wife and 15-year-old daughter by his side, he made a full recovery.
Doctors have since told the four that if they had not acted so quickly, the man would almost certainly have died.
Faye said: “I don’t know if it’s the nature of the job, but we didn’t think twice about stopping.
“I’d just completed the race, and Sam had come along to support me, so we were driving home when we saw a load of cyclists and people in the road.
“We jumped straight out the car, ran up to the crowd and offered to take over CPR until paramedics arrived.
“They used the defibrillator to shock the man’s heart into rhythm. Sam did compressions until he started breathing on his own. By the time he left, he was up and talking to paramedics, which was amazing.
“It was a crazy half an hour, but we’re glad we could help and to be completely honest, I’m prouder of that than I am of finishing the race. We’d like to wish him a speedy recovery and hope he’s back out on his bike soon.”
All four were recognised with a chief constable’s commendation at a recent awards evening.
