York man's life saved by McDonald's worker who used defibrillator

Paul Myers was taken ill on an early morning walk to church

A man who had a cardiac arrest in a McDonald's restaurant has thanked a quick-thinking member of staff for saving his life.

Paul Myers, from York, walked into the fast food outlet after feeling ill on his way to church in November.

After collapsing, a man performed CPR and the staff member used a defibrillator on him before he was taken by helicopter to hospital.

Mr Myers said without their intervention he "wouldn't be here now".

He told BBC Radio York he remembered feeling "so ill and could hardly breathe" and made a beeline for a nearby McDonald's in order to sit down.

However, he said he had no memory of going inside and only knew what had happened because the events were recorded on CCTV.

"I stumbled forward, gashed my head and a member of the general public got up and gave me CPR - but we don't know who that man is," he said.

"Then one of the staff members at McDonald's got a defibrillator and shot my heart.

"In the meantime, some paramedics arrived and the police came as well, so they transferred me from McDonald's into the back of the police van to the helicopter and then a helicopter took me to York A&E."

'so much gratitude'

Mr Myers spent a few days in hospital in York before being transferred to Castle Hill Hospital in Hull where he spent a month recovering.

He said he was now back at home and "getting my strength and stamina back".

"I've now got an implant, my own defibrillator that monitors my heart regularly and is helping to save my life," he said.

He went on to say the medics had told him that cases like his have only a 17% chance of surviving, so "it was overwhelming and I still feel so much gratitude about it".

"As a Christian I'm amazed what God did for me that day - as well as the air ambulance service and the paramedics," he said.

Mr Myers has since gone back to the McDonald's and thanked the staff member, who wanted to remain anonymous.

He said: "The conversation was very humbling as he basically said, 'I was just doing my job, I've been trained to do that'.

"He didn't want to take any glory and that really impressed me because what he did, and what the other man did, those first few moments are really key and, without that, I probably wouldn't be speaking to you today."