A grateful man has been reunited with leisure centre staff to thank them after they saved his life.
Bob Allonby, from Oswaldtwistle, survived thanks to the quick response of four employees and Hyndburn Leisure Centre after collapsing following a heart attack.
Now recovered, Bob, 60, has visited them to give them a thank you gift.
Bob was attending his walking football group when he collapsed suddenly in the sports hall in June this year.
Duty managers Nicola Kellett, Paula Jackson and Karen Hudson, and head of services Joanne Mortimer, rushed to his aid and performed CPR using their defibrillator.
Paula said: “We got a request from reception that someone had collapsed in the walking football group.
“Myself and three other staff members responded and knew immediately something was seriously wrong.
“I went to get the defibrillator from reception, whilst the others checked Mr Allonby’s airway and began CPR.”
Karen said: “I placed the defibrillator on Mr Allonby and it detected that a shock was required.
“After the shock, CPR was started again, but Mr Allonby was beginning to show signs of life, and we began to talk to him, whilst waiting for the ambulance.”
Joanne said: “We were at the scene really quickly, assessing for any normal breathing. Once that decision had been made, we began CPR.
“This was the first time that the defibrillator had been used, and we are so pleased that it helped Bob.
“He was beginning to speak about two minutes after the defibrillator had been used.”
The vital lifesaving equipment was acquired from the Oliver King Foundation in 2013, with help of The Otters Swimming club.
