FELLOW athletes helped save the life of a runner who collapsed with a heart attack during competition.

Off-duty paramedic Fiona Jones was running for Durham-based Elvet Striders in the race at Monkton Stadium in Jarrow last month when 56-year-old competitor Steven Curry suffered a cardiac arrest.

Luckily, the mother-of-two from Chester-le-Street was competing in the same race, alongside nurse practitioner Kerry Barnett and the pair joined medical staff in using CPR and a defibrillator to bring him back before paramedics arrived.

The 5ft 2in Elswick Harrier, known by the nickname 'Little Legs' among fellow runners, has now been reunited with the women who saved his life.

The father-of-one said, “I cycled 50 miles on the bike the day before and though I was a little tired, I felt OK.

“I remember finishing the race, but then coming to and wondering why everyone was making a fuss of me.

“I was definitely in the right place at the right time; if I’d stayed home that night it might have happened in front of my son and I might not have made it.”

Mr Curry collapsed during the race on Monday, May 22. Ms Jones, a paramedic with the North East Ambulance Service for the last 16 years, began CPR almost immediately.

She said: “Kerry called me straight over when it happened and I began working on Steven straight away – we were quick to act and by the time the ambulance crew had arrived we had shocked Steven, brought him around and done a full set of observations.”

Among the paramedic team sent to the scene was Joanne Hulme, who whisked the patient off to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for a stent fitting.

She said: “I travelled in the back of the ambulance with Steven to hospital. He was in pain but comfortable throughout the journey.

“I find doing patient reunions an emotional experience but it’s great to get back and see Steven doing so well.”

Now out of hospital, Mr Curry asked to meet the team who saved his life to say thank you.

He added: “I need to say to tell them all what a difference they’ve made, for bringing me back to my family and for helping reassure me that everything was OK.

“The ambulance guys were lovely, cracking jokes with me and helping to take my mind of what was a worrying time for me, and they even came back to see how I was doing in the hospital.”

Following the incident, Elvet Striders plans to raise funds to have more defibrillators installed around the region.