Arlesey Town goalie saves opposition player's life during match

A non-league goalkeeper for Arlesey Town, who works as a doctor in his day job, helped save the life of an opposition player during a game at the weekend.

David Jones, 31, acted immediately when he saw a footballer for Shefford Veterans become ill on the pitch during the first half of Arlesey's friendly clash on Sunday.

The doctor who works in Harlow noticed immediately that the man had suffered cardiac arrest, he began to help the man and asked his teammates to call an ambulance and get the the defibrillator.

He said: "Everyone ran over and when I got there I could tell he was not breathing.

"I started CPR and asked the rest of the team to call an ambulance and get the defibrillator.

"The team got the defibrillator and I gave him one shock, which re-started his heart and then he began to wake up a few minutes later.

"Not long after that the ambulance and air ambulance arrived and took him to hospital, from what I understand he is still in hospital having treatment.

"I'm just glad I was there and we had a defibrillator on site, the defibrillator is the real hero, anyone can be talked through how to use one over the phone when you call 999, without that I'm not sure if we would have been able to re-start his heart so quickly."

Arlesey Town boss Nuno Nieli said: "Dave was quick to react and started doing CPR straight away, we had a defibrillator at the club and he shouted for someone to grab that and he used it and brought him back to life.

"It was very lucky that David was there, everybody panicked, it's not something we usually have to deal with, but Dave stayed really calm.

"I'm a first aider at the club, but we don't normally see that.

"It was lucky that we had the defibrillator there as well, they are there to help save lives and that is exactly what happened in this situation.

" think if we did not have that there it would have been a different story.

"It's not what you normally see on a Sunday morning.

I've spoken to the club and he is in hospital at the moment, hopefully he makes a full recovery.

A spokesperson for Magpas Air Ambulance said: "I can confirm that Magpas Air Ambulance did attend this incident and transport the patient to hospital.

"We were on hand to provide additional clinical care if it was required en route.

"Bystander CPR is absolutely vital in the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest and it was incredibly fortunate that he received immediate CPR from another team player.

"This is something that Magpas promote through our Hearts Matter training. We would like to see as many people as possible in the community be trained to be able to provide lifesaving CPR. It really does help saves lives."