Dad 'super proud' of daughter, 10, for CPR rescue

Ava (left) performed CPR on her father Dominic after he suffered a cardiac arrest

"If it wasn't for her, it would have been a bad ending."

Dominic is reflecting on what could have happened, had his daughter Ava not reacted so quickly when he told her he might be having a heart attack.

At their home in Sonning Common in February Ava, then 10, performed CPR while on the phone to emergency services.

Dominic, 50, was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, where he remained in a coma for 10 days.

Ava says she remembers the moment she realised her father was having a heart attack.

"He literally sat down, put his tea down and started having the cardiac arrest," she says.

Ava, who had learned CPR with her local Cubs group, was able to keep her father alive until paramedics arrived.

"I pulled him over, phoned the ambulance back to check [where it was] and started doing CPR," she says.

"I ran over to get the neighbours... [and I was] hammering on their door. They came across, then my mum turned up with my other sister."

'Incredible'

Dominic says he only remembers waking up in hospital and being told about his daughter's life-saving actions.

"One of the guys in cardiac said he'd been there for three decades and had never seen a 10-year-old bring someone 'back in the game'," he says.

Dominic says he's "super proud" of Ava, adding: "Thankfully, she's very good at learning, and following through what she learned.

"It was that quick reaction that kept everything moving, kept the circulation going... [she was] incredible".

Her dad says both he and Ava are keen for as many children to learn CPR as possible.

Earlier this month South Central Ambulance Service said it would begin CPR training at almost 100 schools across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.

Asked if his Ava had now become his favourite of his three daughters, Dominic says: "She's pretty spoiled... she's always got the ace card to play now."