Gaye Knight treated Richard Jarvis in the shop where she works

Gaye Knight was working in a shop in Tunbridge Wells when Richard Jarvis had a diabetic fit and stopped breathing.

He had no pulse and had effectively died but Miss Knight resuscitated him and gave him heart massage which paramedics said kept Mr Jarvis alive.

She said she remembered the techniques from a Casualty episode about diabetes.

Even though she had only seen things on TV soaps, she really saved his life Paramedic Tony Kemp

Miss Knight said she has spent hours glued to Casualty - the story of a fictional hospital's Accident and Emergency Department.

She was reunited with the man she helped save - now getting back to health - at the photographic store where he collapsed.

He said: "I realised I was in trouble, the last thing I can remember was standing here thinking I needed help, leaning against the wall and then turning into the shop saying 'help me'.

"That was all I remember until I came round in A and E."

Waiting for paramedics to arrive, Miss Knight thought back to what she had seen on Casualty and stepped into action.

Casualty tells the tale of hospital staff in the fictional city of Holby

She said: "Unfortunately he had gone into a diabetic fit and soon afterwards it was obvious that he had gone into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing.

"I felt for a pulse and there was no pulse so I started doing resuscitation on his chest and giving him heart massage."

Paramedic Tony Kemp arrived within minutes and took over but paid tribute to Miss Knight and her actions.

He said: "I was there within four or five minutes so the chances were fairly good that we could have restarted his heart.

"But those four to five minutes still take away some chance of survival.

"The fact that Gaye just got on and did it, even though she had only seen things on TV soaps, she really saved his life."

Miss Knight is now set to receive an award from the Royal Humane Society for her actions.

She said: "A lot of people laugh at these programmes, and I think I've actually sat there and thought 'this is unbelievable, does this really happen?'.

"But obviously it does happen."