Harrogate golfers honoured for saving player's life after heart attack

Ron Johnson, centre, made a full recovery thanks to Mark Hudson, Rob Stansfield, Gary Cawley and Gareth Traynor (l to r)

Four men have received an award for helping save the life of a golfer who suffered a heart attack during a match on a course in North Yorkshire.

Ron Johnson, 71, collapsed at Oakdale Golf Club in Harrogate last year.

Mr Johnson was then given first aid by Mark Hudson, Gary Cawley, club professional Rob Stansfield and assistant pro Gareth Traynor.

The four have all now been awarded a Certificate of Resuscitation by the Royal Humane Society.

Mr Johnson, a retired police officer from Knaresborough, collapsed without warning and stopped breathing on 21 September 2022.

His playing partner Mr Hudson called 999 and he and fellow player Mr Cawley then gave lifesaving CPR.

Mr Cawley said: "Having worked for the fire service for over 30 years, I'm used to dealing with emergencies. However, the sudden collapse of Ron in front of me was such a shock."

Mr Hudson said he immediately recognised how serious his friend's condition was and said his first aid training "seemed to instinctively kick in".

The men used a defibrillator to help resuscitate Mr Johnson on the golf course before further help arrived

Other players had alerted the club's pro-shop staff and Mr Stansfield and Mr Traynor raced onto the green with a defibrillator.

"When we saw Ron lying there and realised he wasn't breathing, the adrenaline kicked in and my only thought was, 'how do we get him back?'," Mr Stansfield said.

The men delivered two shocks to Mr Johnson and he was breathing erratically and had a weak pulse by the time an ambulance arrived.

He spent six days in an induced coma and was in hospital for 16 days, where he was fitted with a defibrillator and had two stents inserted into his heart.

Mr Cawley said it was an "anxious wait" until they heard Mr Johnson's condition had been made stable.

"All involved had a massive sense of pride that we had helped to save Ron's life," he said.

"A few weeks ago it was a very emotional reunion to see him again having lunch at the golf club."

'Right place, right time'

Andrew Chapman, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said all the men had done a brilliant job.

"They were certainly the right people in the right place at the right time."

Mr Chapman said Mr Johnson's plight had highlighted the value of people learning to administer CPR.

Mr Johnson has since made a complete recovery, but has no memory of events that day.

He said it was "difficult to put into words" how much he owed to those who had helped save his life.

"Not only my friends from Oakdale, but all the paramedics, the medical staff in Harrogate and Leeds and, of course, all my family who played such a huge part in my recovery," Mr Johnson said.

"Thank you seems inadequate for people who have saved your life."