Park rangers 'saved' man suffering heart attack

The family of man who suffered a heart attack at a country park have said rangers who came to his aid "saved his life".

Nick Geraghty was walking through Bradgate Park in Leicester on 31 January when he fell ill.

His son-in-law, Ian Storer, said the 70-year-old started to slow down, became cold and complained of chest pains, at which point his family realised his condition was "quite serious".

Storer, from Leicester, said his father-in-law may not have survived the health scare if it had not been for two rangers who rushed to his aid and ensured he was seen by paramedics quickly.

Storer, a head of department at Aston University in Birmingham, said his family had decided to go for a walk in the park due to the "lovely weather".

"It was a lovely day in Bradgate Park, but then Nick just started to slow down," he said.

"The further we got, the more we realised that this wasn't just the beginnings of a chest infection or something. This was something quite serious.

"My wife legged it back down to a ranger we saw earlier while I was holding on to him.

"She ran back with two rangers, and with their medical training and their enthusiastic, helpful attitudes, they sort of calmed us down and got in touch with the emergency services."

Storer said the two rangers, named Rob and Rhys, brought along a defibrillator and oxygen, before administering first aid and letting paramedics know exactly where to find the family.

"You're obviously trained for this, but there's a difference between doing the training and being with a guy who is desperately poorly," Rob said.

"It's almost a bit of a fight and flight moment.

"The instinct takes over, the adrenaline kicks in and it's 'right, what are we doing to help now?'"

Storer said the men wrapped his father-in-law in a blanket to keep him warm and drove him to an adult changing table in a nearby disabled toilet to make sure he was comfortable.

"We can't thank them enough, really," he said. "They were just outstanding.

"They were just exactly what we needed.

"In a lot of ways, if we hadn't actually been at Bradgate Park, it could have gone very differently.

"You never want these things to happen.

"But because we were there, we got the best help that we could in the situation.

"They saved his life, really."

Geraghty was taken to hospital for treatment and, two weeks on, his son-on-in law said "he is back to himself".

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