Sheffield cardiac arrest victim thanks lifesaving Good Samaritans

Eric Waters says the people who helped him after his cardiac arrest in Sheffield "saved my life"

A man who suffered a cardiac arrest in a Sheffield street has said the unknown people who helped him saved his life.

Eric Waters, 73, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, collapsed while cycling to Sheffield Cathedral on 31 March.

He was later told by a nurse that a total of seven people came to his aid, with one administering CPR.

Mr Waters said he wanted to trace those Good Samaritans so he could thank them and ensure they knew their efforts had not been in vain.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "The people who helped me saved my life".

Mr Waters said he understood if those involved did not want to get in touch, but he would like to know they had received his thanks.

Mr Waters was heading to Sheffield Cathedral on his bike when he collapsed

"I am sure those people would want to know their efforts were absolutely vital and successful," he said.

Mr Waters was in the city as part of a 2,000-mile journey cycling to all 42 English cathedrals, a journey he began in February and intended to complete in stages.

On the day of his cardiac arrest, he was cycling from Wakefield to Sheffield.

He said he had felt tired and decided to take a rest, pulling his bike onto the pavement where he then collapsed.

Mr Waters said he had no memory of what had happened until he woke up four hours later in Sheffield's Northern General Hospital.

"The whole thing is a complete gap in my life," he said.

'Can't thank people enough'

He said he later learned the survival rate for people who had a cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting was just 8%.

It appeared that the people who helped him had acted so quickly that he had been left with no side-effects, Mr Waters said.

"I can't thank people enough and they probably would like to know their work wasn't in vain."

He said that ironically, just two weeks before, he had helped someone who had collapsed in Harrogate.

Mr Waters said that since his cardiac arrest he had been told he would need an aortic valve replacement, but hoped to resume cycling.

"If I can, I would love to be able to do the 30-odd cathedrals I've got left," he said.