Quick-thinking leisure centre staff in Sunderland saved the life of a member after he suffered sudden cardiac arrest.

Ted Reilly, 67, collapsed at the Crowtree Leisure Centre during one of his routine visits to the facility.

Having undergone a quadruple heart bypass seven years ago following a heart attack, Reilly regularly attends the Sunderland Cardiac Support Group Exercise for Life sessions held at the centre.

The programme, aimed at keeping previous cardiac patients and their carers fit, healthy and sociable, is self-financed through its members and is attended by more than 100 people each week.

It was during one of these sessions that Reilly collapsed and Marie Hutchinson, the AED-trained coronary heart disease nurse attending the session, summoned the help of two of the centre’s lifeguards, Gordon Cary and Alan Towers, who were able to save Reilly’s life using a Laerdal HeartStart FR2 Defibrillator.

“There was no warning; no symptoms at all. I didn’t feel any pain; it was as if someone had just turned out the lights,” said Reilly. “According to the trace from the defibrillator, my heart had stopped and I was medically dead: then the machine brought me back to life on the first shock.”

The Heartstart Sunderland Lifesavers Scheme, part of the Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust, aims to raise public awareness of the importance of basic life saving skills, including early defibrillation for victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

The organisation has been instrumental in the installation of defibrillators and basic life saving skills training in an increasing number of public places in Sunderland including schools, health centres and leisure centres.

Towers, Carty and Hutchinson were presented with a Royal LifeSavers Award during the Royal Life Savers Kiss 4 Life Week.