Swimmer thanks pool staff who saved her life

Louise Harris (centre) personally thanked rescuers Terry Hardy (left) and Nicola Nuttall (right)

A woman has thanked leisure centre staff for saving her life after she suffered a cardiac arrest while swimming.

Louise Harris was pulled from the water at 1Leisure Medina in Newport, Isle of Wight, after she was seen floating face-down in the shallow end of the pool.

Employees carried out CPR until she regained consciousness and was airlifted to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.

Mrs Harris said she would likely have died without their quick-thinking.

Staff leapt into action when they noticed the swimmer was in trouble

After carrying her to the side of the pool, duty manager Terry Hardy and leisure attendant Sean Joyce spent 40 minutes trying to restart her heart.

"The training just kicked in," Mr Hardy said.

Nicola Nuttall, a midwife and resuscitation specialist from St Mary's Hospital, also happened to be in the pool at the time and assisted with a defibrillator.

She said they had worked well as a team, adding: "There was that communication without having to communicate and that's what you need in those situations."

When emergency services arrived, Mrs Harris was flown to hospital where she underwent surgery.

The heroic employees were honoured with a special recognition award from Isle of Wight Council

On 19 July, about six weeks after the incident, Mrs Harris returned to the leisure centre to personally thank the staff.

"If this had happened anywhere else I may not have been so lucky," she said.

Addressing her rescuers, she went on: "You are all so skilled - all that training and theory you put into practice and you saved my life, all of you.

"I couldn't have picked a better place to have a cardiac arrest."