Express & Star

Police heroes who revived passenger at Wolverhampton Railway Station to be honoured

Three British Transport Police officers who saved the life of a passenger after he collapsed at Wolverhampton Railway Station platform have been awarded top national honours.

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Wolverhampton Train Station

George Carpenter, Hayden Elvidge and Jason Walters are each to receive Royal Humane Society resuscitation certificates for their life and death battle amid a milling crowd of football supporters.

Paramedics who rushed to the scene said their swift action saved the life of 67-year-old heart attack victim Mikhan Singh Madahar, of Goldthorne Road, Wolverhampton.

The drama unfolded on April 14 last year after reports that Mr Madahar had collapsed on a platform.

As they waited for a defibrillator to arrive, the victim stopped breathing and two of the officers set about performing chest compressions. At the same time they had to control the heavy volume of people on the platform.

As a result of the officers' efforts, and shocks from the defibrillator, Mr Madahar had begun breathing again by the time paramedics arrived to take him to hospital where he went on to make a full recovery.

In addition to the awards, the transport officers, all from Wolverhampton, also earned the personal praise of Andrew Chapman, secretary of the Royal Humane Society.

Speaking at the Society’s London headquarters, he said : "Time is of the essence in situations like this and the officers were on the spot almost immediately. The sooner CPR is started the more effective it will be.

"Paramedics and staff from the cardiology unit have said that without the immediate actions of the officers it is unlikely Mr Madahar would have survived. The three officers richly deserve the awards the are to receive.

"This is yet another incident that emphasises the need for as many people as possible to get to grips with life-saving techniques such as CPR.

"No-one who has learned it really wants to have to use it but as this incident shows it can make the difference between life and death."

A date has yet to be fixed for presentation of the award which follows a recommendation from British Transport Police.

The Royal Humane Society, which was launched more than 200 years ago, is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.

It was founded in 1774 by two of the day's eminent medical men, William Hawes and Thomas Cogan, whose main motive was to promote techniques of resuscitation.

However, as it emerged that many people were prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others, the awards scheme evolved, and today a variety of awards are made in different categories.

The Society, which receives no public funding, also awards non-health care professionals who perform a successful resuscitation. Since its beginnings, the charity has considered more than 87,000 cases and handed out over 200,000 awards.

It is one of a select number of organisations to recently receive a donation from a fund set up to acknowledge work done by organisations of which the Queen is the patron to mark her 90th birthday.