TV presenter recalls 'shaking' after giving man CPR

BBC South weather presenter Alexis Green said she was shaking after the incident on Saturday

A BBC weather presenter has recalled "shaking" as she tried to save a man's life.

BBC South Today's Alexis Green is the lead presenter for the south region, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

But on Saturday she was called upon to use the first aid training she had recently completed at work.

Ms Green was attending a sporting event with her family when she answered "frantic" calls for a doctor or first aider.

"I had only done my first aid training with work in the last six months, but I was a lifeguard when I was a kid," Ms Green said.

"I've had to stop a child running by the side of the pool but not actually gone into a situation where I had to do CPR."

She said she was led to an elderly man who had collapsed and was lying in the recovery position.

"I moved him so he was a bit more comfortable, but then his condition worsened - he didn't look good at all," she recalled.

The man went into cardiac arrest and Ms Green started chest compressions.

NHS advice states compressions should be given at a rate of 100 to 120 times a minute.

Often first aid courses suggest following the beat of songs like Nelly the Elephant or the Bee Gees' song Stayin' Alive.

Alexis Green (left) sits in the BBC South Today studio with presenter Edward Sault and sports presenter Lewis Coombes (right)

After giving CPR for five minutes, a man found a defibrillator.

"It was really quite clever - it analysed [the patient's] body to see his condition, which took about a minute, then said 'stand back, shocking'," Ms Green continued.

"It shocked him, then said 'carry on chest compressions'.

"It was about 10 to 15 minutes before the ambulance arrived - I think I was running on adrenaline until that point."

Ms Green said she was later contacted by the event organisers, who told her the man was "sitting up in bed and OK - he would be held in hospital for a few more days".

"It was just one of those things - that you feel you have to save someone's life," Ms Green said afterwards.

She emphasised the importance of doing her first aid training, saying she was now keen to do a refresher course as the incident helped her feel more confident.

"At first, when I got to him, I was wondering if I could remember what to do," she added.

"I was shaking a bit afterwards, thinking 'have I done the right thing?'."

She said it was a team effort, as another woman helped with CPR and another man shouted to help them keep in rhythm.

"I was just a cog in the wheel," she said.