Luton Town fan, 80, reunited with his CPR life-saver

Sue Collins performed CPR on Paul Rodell after he suffered cardiac arrest outside Kenilworth Road

A Luton Town fan who suffered cardiac arrest outside the team's stadium has been reunited with the woman who helped save his life.

Paul Rodell, 80, stopped breathing while on his way to watch the Hatters take on Chelsea on 30 December.

Bedford Hospital nurse Sue Collins was on the scene and performed CPR on him until emergency services arrived.

After being reunited with Ms Collins, Mr Rodell said: "No words I can think of can adequality explain how I feel."

Luton player Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch in December after suffering cardiac arrest

Ms Collins, 56, said a series of coincidences had led to her being there that day.

She had secured tickets to the game only two days earlier and had waited in the car for five minutes on the day "because we were a little bit early".

The nurse was walking up Kenilworth Road when she spotted Mr Rodell "in some kind of trouble".

"I got hold of Paul from the back to lower him to the floor. We got him on the the floor and realised quite quickly he wasn't breathing, so I started CPR," she said.

Ms Collins sent her husband to get a defibrillator from the club while she began the life-saving treatment.

Two new defibrillators have been installed at the ground since Mr Rodell collapsed

As the nurse recounted what happened, Mr Rodell said: "I feel quite emotional hearing it from Sue, and I've never felt like this.

"I never thought about getting old... To have this happen to me so suddenly makes you realise how lucky you are to be alive."

Mr Rodell was back at Kenilworth Road in March to watch his team play, starting with their late defeat against Aston Villa on 2 March.

"Maybe it's not the best place but it was a real tonic to come back!" he said.

In December 2023, Luton captain Tom Lockyer collapsed during a Premier League match against Bournemouth and was resuscitated on the pitch.

The 29-year-old defender's scare motivated record numbers of people to learn about CPR from the British Heart Foundation website.

Ms Collins said: "One of the main things to come from this and the Tom Lockyer story is for people to just learn CPR. You don't need to do a full first-aid course."