AN amateur footballer jumped off his hospital bed last night to give an emotional hug and thank the man who saved his life after he “died”

on the pitch.

Previously fit and healthy, 53-year-old goalkeeper Dave Orr met his saviour, Darren Cole, three days after suffering a heart attack during a training session.

Mr Orr, from Darlington, collapsed in front of his teammates during a training exercise on Tuesday at the town’s Eastbourne Sports Complex.

There were no signs of a pulse and he had stopped breathing before quick-thinking Mr Cole sprang into action and restarted his heart with a defibrillator.

He was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital and transferred to The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where he is waiting for a triple bypass.

Last night, the pair hugged and shook hands at Mr Orr’s bedside after The Northern Echo reunited them for the first time since the drama.

He asked: “Is it Darren?” before he got from his bed to shake his hand.

The pair spoke for halfan- hour in front of equally emotional family members, including Mr Orr’s partner, Liz.

Mr Cole told Mr Orr what had happened on Tuesday, they shared a joke and promised to meet for a round of golf and beer after Mr Orr recovers from his bypass.

Mr Orr told Mr Cole: “I owe you so much.”

Mr Cole replied: “It is amazing to speak to you.”

Mr Orr, who fits double glazing, said afterwards: “I’m so glad I have seen him tonight rather than waiting. The longer it went on the harder it might have been.

“I am just so glad he was there, otherwise I wouldn’t be here now.

“He deserves some kind of accolade because you don’t go to work expecting to save people’s lives. He certainly saved my life.”

Mr Cole said: “It has made my year. It hadn’t sunk in until now. I’m going to have a beaming smile all night long.

“I have refrained from saying I saved someone’s life until now. I was so glad to see him up and about.”

The drama unfolded shortly after the Darlington Croft football team, second in Division Two of the Sunderland District Over-40s League, started training.

Father-of-five Mr Orr, who had previously never been admitted to hospital, runs twice a week and plays football twice a week.

He said: “I felt a pain in my chest but thought it was from a collision I suffered a couple of weeks ago.

“I went round a couple of cones and the next second I went down to the floor. The next thing I remember was waking up in the ambulance.”

Mr Cole, who works at Eastbourne Sports Complex and the town’s Dolphin Centre, said: “It was the most intense experience I have ever had in my life. Normally in the Dolphin Centre, you have support of fellow members of staff.

“I was the only member of staff there and I had nerves screaming inside me.

“I thought it was me or no one else and did what I had to do.”

Paramedics, who took Mr Orr to Darlington Memorial Hospital, praised Mr Cole for his actions.