Sunderland Nissan workers thanked for saving man's life

Frank Kelly with David Freeman and ambulance staff who helped save his life

A man whose life was saved by two passing factory workers has visited them to offer his thanks in person.

Frank Kelly, 77, had a cardiac arrest while cycling near the Nissan car plant in Sunderland in August 2021.

Karl Harrison and David Freeman, both CPR-trained, carried out the lifesaving procedure until paramedics arrived.

Nissan said it had now joined forces with the North East Ambulance Service to offer CPR training to all its 6,000 staff at the Sunderland site.

Mr Kelly, from Castletown, said: "I was fit as a fiddle - or so I thought. But I was on my bike and suddenly, nothing.

"I don't remember anything about it, the only thing I remember is waking up in hospital."

Mr Kelly said that without the actions of the Nissan workers he would not be here

Karl Harrison, from Nissan's quality assurance team, said it was only by chance he found Mr Kelly after having taken a detour to a newsagents on his way to work.

He said: "When I did my CPR training with Nissan and the ambulance service 10 years ago, I hoped I'd never have to use it, but this just shows why it is so important to get it."

Meanwhile, David Freeman, a production supervisor at the plant, said he and Mr Harrison knew immediately that CPR was the "best action".

"It was quite scary, I'd never had to put my training into use before," he said.

"It's not what you expect to end up doing on your way into work, but the training kicks in and you just try to keep a cool head while the experts arrive to take over."

While performing CPR, it is necessary to maintain a certain rhythm and it is suggested that a song can help do that.

Mr Freeman said: "On our training, we were taught Nellie the Elephant, so honestly that's the song that was going round in my head."

Training is being offered on site to all 6,000 Nissan's Sunderland staff

The North East Ambulance Service said without the efforts of the two Nissan employees, Mr Kelly would not have survived.

During his visit to the Sunderland plant, Mr Kelly also met the paramedics who attended the scene and thanked them.

"Without them all, I wouldn't be here today," he said.

Mr Kelly added that there was "still a long way to go" in his recovery, but he was "getting there slowly".