AN Appleton football coach has spoken of the importance of first aid and CPR training after saving the life of a young mum.

Forty-one-year-old Andrew Collins, and his brother Mark, 43, were supervising at a junior football competition when a woman went into cardiac arrest.

"I was refereeing one of the matches that morning, and my brother came over the tannoy and put a first aid call out," said dad-of-two Andrew, a former North West Ambulance first responder and under six team coach.

"I went over, got a first aid bag and someone said a woman had been sick.

"When I went over she was on the floor, her husband was there, and he was panicking.

"He was already on the phone to the ambulance and he was talking through what was going on. So I just did my first aid checks, talking to her, getting her background history, any medication she was on, checking her pulse.

"It seemed to go really fast, within minutes. All of a sudden she went into cardiac arrest. She stopped breathing."

With no response from the woman, Andrew performed CPR, including chest compressions, until paramedics arrived on June 23 and the patient was taken to Broadgreen Hospital, in Liverpool, where she underwent heart surgery.

Both Andrew and Mark, who are football coaches at Appleton AFC, are fully first aid and CPR trained – a compulsory requirement when all coaches complete their FA level one qualification, with a refresher every three years.

A spokesperson for Appleton AFC, formerly Appleton Boys, said: "An FA course provides the knowledge, practical skills and confidence to be able to attend a conscious or unconscious casualty and ensure appropriate care is given until the emergency medical services arrive and takeover.

"In addition, Appleton AFC promote defibrillator awareness via our website and we also arrange courses for our volunteers, parents and carers to ensure the best possible outcome in an emergency situation."

Andrew, a graphic designer for the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at Daresbury Laboratory, added: "For me, it was all training. You switch off and focus on what you are doing.

"First aid and CPR training should be in schools as part of the curriculum, and there is no excuse to not have basic knowledge.

"Even if you have basic knowledge it does make a difference."

The patient, who does not wish to be named, said she is 'eternally grateful' for everything Andrew did and for all the continued support the club has provided.

Appleton AFC's next awareness course will take place in autumn.

For more information visit appletonafc.co.uk