Watch: Pair who saved man's life with defibrillator at Telford leisure centre

The pair were the first members of staff on the scene when a man in his 60s suffered cardiac arrest while playing badminton at Oakengates Leisure Centre.

Dave and Robin, who are fitness and leisure assistants at the centre in Telford, used a defibrillator and CPR to help the man after they were alerted by members of the public on Monday.

Dave, 26, from Oakengates, immediately ran to the courts and found the man lying motionless on the floor.

He said: "I recognised the man as a regular here, but his lips were blue, his face was a funny colour and there seemed to be no reaction from him at all.

"I started to work through the CPR procedure and when we put the defibrillator on him it indicated there was no heartbeat and we would need to trigger a shock.

"By then Robin was working with me, as he had put in a call to the paramedics as soon as we knew a man had collapsed.

Robin, 29, from Shrewsbury, said: "Once we had delivered the shock the man seemed to come round and we restarted CPR, then the paramedics arrived.

"It was only after we handed over to the paramedics that we thought about what we had done, up to that point we both worked instinctively.

"It was as though we were on autopilot, we didn't need to even talk to each other, we just did it.

"We train often, we know exactly what to do, we practise for this kind of thing and so when the real thing happened we were ready.

"I was a bit shaken afterwards," admitted Robin, "but I also felt on a bit of a high, because being able to help someone like that, to save someone's life, it makes you feel good.

"The man is making a steady recovery in North Staffordshire Hospital and is also recovering from a broken ankle he suffered when he fell.

"His wife told us that he had been feeling ill throughout Monday, but coming to play badminton on Monday probably saved his life.

"If it had happened at his home I am not sure the ambulance would have reached him in time to save him.

"The training we have here really helps and I think it's training that everyone should have."

Dave and Robin used the gym's automated external defibrillator (AED) to administer a shock to the man.

The AEDs analyse the rhythm of the patient's heart and determine whether a shock needs to be given.

If a shock is required, two sticky pads are placed on the lower chest area, everyone else moves away and the shock is delivered.

Telford & Wrekin Council has AEDs at all of its leisure sites, with staff trained in their use, as well as in the use of oxygen and in CPR.

Stuart Walker, 36, operations manager at Oakengates Leisure Centre, said that regular first aid training is given to all the staff.

"The staff here have to do CPR and life-saving instruction as part of their ongoing training," he said.

"It is an integral part of the job they do and the value of that is clear when incidents like this happen."

This is not the first time that staff at the Oakengates Leisure Centre centre have been instrumental in saving a life.

In October last year staff members resuscitated a 24-year-old woman who collapsed after a spin session.