TWO rugby players who came to the rescue of a teammate after she stopped breathing following a hard tackle have been hailed as heroes.
Ashleigh Shepherd, who plays for Darlington Ladies rugby team, is recovering after suffering a knock to the head during a match last Sunday.
She has thanked teammates Hannah Picknett , who is a firefighter, and Army regular Hayley Cornforth, who came to rescue when she went down following a tackle and stopped breathing.
The pair performed CPR for about five minutes before an ambulance arrived at Blackwell Meadows, where the team was playing a match against Didsbury.
Read more: Darlington mum's terror as loved ones still in Kyiv in Ukraine
Describing her teammates as "absolute legends", Ashleigh, who is now recovering at home, said: “They were just amazing.
“Our team doesn’t get any funding so we don’t have doctors or physios so if it wasn’t for them I don’t know what would have happened.
“If it wasn’t for them it could have been the difference between me being here or not.”
She added: "I'm just thankful to have such an amazing rugby family."
Ashleigh, who has been playing since 2019, will be out for the rest of the season following the concussion as she has been told not to play for 12 weeks.
Company Sergeant Major Hayley, who is based at the infantry training centre in Catterick and has been playing for the team for more than five years, said: “It was an in the moment thing so it wasn’t scary at the time. It’s afterwards you start to think about the what ifs.
“I don’t think I’m a hero – I just had to do what I did and so did Hannah. We were in the right place at the right time to help.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in rugby when I’ve been on the pitch. There have been injuries and head injuries but nothing like that.
“I’d like to thank Hannah for her quick action and everyone around us. People feel like they weren’t involved but everyone was in some way.
"Every single one of the girls pitched in, whether it was holding the brollies over our heads to shield us from the rain or getting us a bit of whisky to calm us down when it was over. It was a huge team effort.”
Clubs up and down the country had retired the number 11 shirt for matches at the weekend, following the death of player Jack Jeffery on the pitch during a game earlier this month.
Read more: Hollyoaks actor to star in adult panto coming to Darlington
Rachael Turnbull, the team’s vice captain, said: “It was quite a traumatic experience.
“You always think things like that are far from home but then something like that happens.
“We don’t know what we would have done if Hannah and Hayley weren’t there. They both have training to they just did it.
“We have a massive amount of trust in the pair of them. They are always the ones who go over if someone is hurt.”
The match in the women’s championship North two division was abandoned 15 minutes before the end due to the incident.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here