Woman thanked for CPR that saved football fan's life

Bob Dewane is recovering in hospital after a triple bypass operation having been taken ill after leaving Fratton Park

A woman has thanked a St John Ambulance worker for helping to save her father's life after he had a heart attack following a football match.

Bob Dewane went into cardiac arrest as he was crossing the footbridge at Fratton station last month after Portsmouth played Sheffield Wednesday.

His daughter, Amy Dewane, who wasn't with him when it happened, later tracked down a father and son on social media who started giving him CPR, but couldn't find another woman who helped.

Radio Solent managed to find the woman, called Sarah Taylor, who said it was good to know he had survived and was recovering from a triple bypass operation.

Amy Dewane has thanked the St John Ambulance worker who helped her father

Ms Dewane tearfully told Ms Taylor on Thursday: "On behalf of me, my mum and my sisters, and of course my dad, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, as we've been told you were giving it your all on that bridge to help him.

"We've been told he wasn't meant to be here today as he was so poorly but he was able to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary with my mum on Saturday, which we didn't think would happen."

Ms Taylor, originally from Sheffield, said she had been fundraising and showing people how to do CPR with the charity for the Save a Life September campaign the day of the incident.

She then went to meet her partner and sons who had been at the match but as she got to the footbridge, she saw Ms Dewane's father in the recovery position and started to help with CPR.

She said: "I'd caught the train down to Fratton Park on the train to meet my family for what was supposed to be a birthday dinner that evening.

"I got off the train, started on the footbridge and came across Amy's dad and saw he had been put in the recovery position, found he wasn't breathing and started CPR.

"After he was taken to hospital, I stayed to clear debris from the bridge and then picked up a second patient who had a head injury, so my evening didn't actually finish until much later that night."