A GOOD Samaritan who stopped to help a cyclist who suffered a heart attack while out riding has told how several people worked to save his life.

The unnamed cyclist, a man in his 50s, collapsed after coming to a stop on Salters Lane, Sedgefield, County Durham, on Good Friday at 1.30pm.

Early reports suggested that one passer-by had stopped to administer first aid, but it has now emerged that four people worked together to perform CPR on the cyclist until an ambulance arrived.

Paul Robinson, who saw the man collapse, praised a woman he thinks is called Kelly, who he said carried out the life-saving CPR.

Paramedics used a defibrillator to shock the man’s heart back into rhythm before the Great North Air Ambulance took him to James Cook Hospital, in Middlesbrough, in a critical condition.

Mr Robinson, 25, from Darlington, was driving with his friend Chris Blakeborough, also 25, when they saw the man leaning against a fence, before collapsing on to the pavement.

He said: “My friend saw him leaning on the fence and I then saw him fall so we pulled over straight away. I’d had some first aid training years ago so I sort of knew what to do.

“I knew something was seriously wrong – he wasn’t breathing and he was unconscious.

“Another car came over and the woman, Kelly, and her father got out. She said she was trained in first aid through her job so she took instruction from a 999 operator and gave him CPR.

“Kelly was great, she stayed really calm, and the rest of us just helped really. It’s the first time I’ve ever been in a situation like that and it was a bit surreal.”

Air crew paramedic Stuart Thompson said the cyclist was ‘lucky’ to suffer a heart attack in front of someone who knew CPR.

He added: “Essentially, this person saved his life. To survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is rare – just a one to two per cent chance. He was a very lucky man.”

Mr Robinson is keen to hear from the family of the cyclist to find out how he is recovering. He would also like to hear from Kelly to thank her for her help. To contact Mr Robinson call a Darlington reporter on 01325-505099.