Man's life saved after cardiac arrest at Alton Towers

The 41-year-old had been walking through the theme park in Staffordshire with his family when he suddenly collapsed at around 4.30pm yesterday (WED).

A passing off-duty GP and an ambulance technician rushed to his aid, followed by a community first responder from Alton Towers carrying a defibrillator.

West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman Claire Brown said: "The team quickly commenced CPR, administering about eight cycles of chest compressions on the man.

"They used the defibrillator to deliver two shocks to the man's heart and successfully managed to restart his heart.

"When the first ambulance staff arrived the man was breathing for himself and, when the air ambulance landed, he was sitting up and talking."

The man was assessed at the scene and given further treatment before being airlifted to University Hospital North Staffordshire, where was said to be in a stable condition upon arrival.

Ms Brown said: "This was an excellent example of how important it is to start CPR quickly in cardiac arrest cases.

"If it hadn't of been for the bystanders and CFR, ambulance staff commented that it was unlikely the man would've survived."