Pensioner helps save woman's life at disco

Ray was able to reunite with the woman he helped when she left the hospital

A retired ambulance worker helped save the life of a woman when she collapsed at a social club disco.

Ray McDermott, from County Durham, quickly performed CPR despite suffering from a debilitating lung condition himself.

The 76-year-old has since met with the woman, whose daughter thanked him for saving her mother's life.

Ray, who was recognised by the British Heart Foundation for his efforts, said the reunion was "brilliant".

Back in April, he was in his “usual seat” at the Working Men’s Club in Grange Villa, near Chester-le-Street, when he heard calls for help.

The former North East Ambulance Service cardiac technician thought someone had hurt their ankle, but realised there was a bigger problem when he saw a woman collapsed on the floor.

Ray, who lives with his partner Carol Foster, has been recognised by the British Heart Foundation

Ray suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but said he "completely" forgot about it and performed CPR for 15 minutes while speaking to ambulance operators on the phone.

“While I was doing CPR I completely forgot about my COPD – it just goes out of my mind when someone is that bad, my one thought is for them," he said.

"Even if I am struggling to breathe I make myself breathe because I need to for them.”

'Brilliant'

Ray and the 66-year-old woman were able to meet up when she came out of the hospital.

“It was a bit of a shock,” he said. “She came in with her daughter and said they were looking for Raymond.

“The lads pointed me out and they came over and gave me a cuddle – it was brilliant.

“The daughter said thank you for saving my mum’s life because the hospital had said that if it wasn’t for my actions she wouldn’t have survived."

He has also been recognised with a CPR Hero award by the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Charmaine Griffiths, CEO at the BHF, said the stories of people like Ray never failed to inspire her.