GOOD Samaritan staff at a leisure centre who rushed to help a man suffering from a potentially fatal heart attack have been given special commendations by the ambulance service and a personal thank you from the man they saved.

Keen swimmer Charles Knight, had been for his regular swim at Bedale Lesiure Centre one Sunday morning in November and was heading home when he started to become very unwell.

Staff saw Mr Knight in the car park of the centre looking confused and went to check. Realising he was having a heart attack they brought him back inside and called 999 for an emergency ambulance.

The centre had a defibrillator which uses electric pulses to keep the heart going and staff had been trained in what to do and how to use it. They performed life saving treatment until ambulance paramedics arrived to take over.

Mr Knight was taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where he had emergency surgery and was back at the swimming pool within weeks.

Vince Larvin, Locality Director for Yorkshire Ambulance said: “This incident highlights the importance of the chain of survival, including early recognition, calling 999, bystander CPR and early defibrillation.

"The speedy response of the leisure centre staff played a vital role in his survival before the arrival of our staff and we are delighted that Mr Knight has made a full recovery and is now back at work.”

He said in the event of a cardiac arrest, the first few minutes are critical and if effective treatment can be performed within this time, lives can be saved and disability reduced.

Steve Lister, Hambleton District Council’s head of leisure and communities, said the emergency is one leisure centre teams are trained to deal with, but hope they will never have to do.

“It showed our teams pull together in a crisis," he said.

"We are very proud of the way they reacted to this emergency, without their intervention Mr Knight might not have survived."

Mr Knight thanked the staff, duty Officer Louise Lowcock and Leisure Attendant Craig Patrick for saving his life and watched them being presented with commendations from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust for their crucial quick response.