A 64-YEAR-old man suffered a cardiac arrest while swimming and was rushed to hospital on Tuesday morning.

The man went into cardiac arrest in the swimming pool at Redcar's Leisure and Community Heart, and was rescued by lifeguards who performed CPR on him until an ambulance arrived.

The Great North Air Ambulance also attended and the swimmer was treated by its on-board doctor.

A spokesman said: "We were called to Redcar leisure centre at about 8.40 this morning because a 64-year-old man had gone into cardiac arrest while swimming.

"Our paramedics and doctor treated him for the cardiac arrest and placed him into an induced coma.

"He was taken to James Cook Hospital by road ambulance, and arrived in a stable condition."

Peter Smith, contract manager for Everyone Active, which runs the leisure centre, said: “I can confirm that a gentleman became unwell at 8:30am this morning, whilst using Redcar & Cleveland Leisure and Community Heart.

“The emergency services were called, who attended site at 8:40am, to deal with the situation.”