Heysham Power Station worker's sofa shopping trip helps save man's life

Dan, of Crag Bank, was in SCS in Preston with his wife and two boys looking for a new sofa when a 52-year-old man collapsed with a cardiac arrest.

“The guy had walked past us a few minutes before and then we heard his wife screaming after he had collapsed and the staff were shouting for any first aiders," Dan said.

“To be honest I was a bit reluctant at first as I was in the shop with my family, but then the training kicked in and me and another guy who also had first aid skills started the CPR.”

Along with a couple from Morecambe who were first on the scene and had identified that the man's heart had stopped beating, Dan began going through the usual checks, but found that the man was dead.

They proceeded to start CPR, which would last 20 minutes. The man did revive, although he only had a faint pulse before the paramedics arrived.

Paramedics then shocked the man twice as they fought to keep him alive, before taking him off to intensive care where he spent two days.

He returned home after a short time in hospital and called Dan, who had kept in touch with the man’s wife and mother.

Dan said: “We chatted for 30 minutes and he said that he felt like a new man, although he was still a bit wobbly and emotional.

"It turns out he was ex-military with no health issues, but had woken up that morning with what he thought was indigestion.

“It was a surreal day, and very emotional.

“But you have step up; learning first aid in a calm classroom and having a laugh is so different from real life experience, but it means you know what to do.

"And the paramedics said without the CPR he would have died.”