Award for Remembrance Day heart attack life-savers

Dwain Longley, pictured front row far right, said he was "in the right place at the right time".

A mayor and mayoress and a group of air cadets have been honoured for their life-saving bravery after a man suffered a heart attack at a Remembrance Day service.

Dwain Longley and Tracey Austin, the Mayor and Mayoress of Featherstone, performed CPR on Rudy Foo after he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest at Wakefield Cathedral in November.

Mr Foo has since made a full recovery and he attended a civic reception where Mr Longley and Ms Austin, as well as air cadets who shielded him during his treatment, were presented with a Royal Humane Society award.

Mr Longley, who is area operations manager at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said it was just a case of "right place, right time".

"A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone of any age at any time," Mr Longley said.

"Action taken in the first few minutes of this occurring can make a huge difference to someone's chances of survival. I'm delighted the patient has made a full recovery."

Rudy Foo, pictured front right, has made a full recovery since his collapse at Wakefield Cathedral in November

Commanding Officer Flt Lt Luke Harvey, from the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, said the cadets involved were "a credit to themselves, the squadron and the organisation".

Flt Lt Harvey, who formed part of the human shield around Mr Foo, said: "First aid is one of the fundamental skills we teach cadets, and we always tell them of its importance and that they will never know when they may need to use it.

"The incident at the cathedral proved that to be very true.

"I am so incredibly proud of how the cadets acted on the night to help maintain the privacy and dignity of the gentleman while life-saving intervention was provided."

At a civic reception in Wakefield Town Hall, those involved were presented with the Royal Humane Society Resuscitation Certificate by the Mayor of Wakefield, Darren Byford, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The cadets also received a "Mayor Says Thanks" certificate.

The mayor praised the group's swift response and said he hoped the incident would help raise awareness of the importance of learning life-saving skills.

"Knowing how to perform resuscitation techniques is an incredibly important skill and it really can save someone's life while waiting for an ambulance," Mr Byford said.

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