‘Thank you for saving my life’ - a heart attack victim has spoken to the ‘news’ to convey his thanks to the professional people in Millport with CPR skills who rushed to his aid.

Brian Sneddon, 64, was only making up the numbers when he was asked to be a goalkeeper during a football friendly against West Kilbride at West Bay, Millport, on Saturday 20 June.

After 35 minutes of action, Brian collapsed, and three locals with CPR skills, rushed to his aid, and as further luck would have it, a passing cyclist who is a doctor at the Beatson Hospital in Glasgow, also assisted.

An ambulance was called while three local men - fire officer crew manager David Bryceland, and father and son Luigi and Marino Giorgetti, each administered CPR, and the doctor on her bike offered her assistance to the ambulance staff, before the emergency helicopter arrived on the scene. Luigi is a station officer on the HM Cumbrae Coastguard, and Marino works as a seaman purser for Caledonian MacBrayne.

Brian was flown direct to the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow where he undertook heart surgery before being transferred to Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride, and was released on Tuesday 23rd.

He is recovering well at home in Blantyre, and said: “I am so grateful to everyone who rallied round as otherwise I wouldn’t be talking to you today. I nearly got my wings that day - but it has been put back!

I said to my wife ‘Thank God - I feel like I am Peter Pan’, I feel that I am really progressing with my recovery, and I have so many people to thank.

“I was so lucky that there were so many people around who were trained in CPR. I can’t wait to get back to Millport and personally thank everyone, but doctors have told me that I must rest for four weeks.“