First responder

Mel Young’s red Royal Mail jumper was a beacon of hope for customer Gordon Carlton after he collapsed at home.

He spotted the postwoman as she was out on her rounds and called to her for help when his pacemaker started to shock him, throwing him to the ground.

Mel, based at Albany delivery office, Tyne and Wear, rushed to call 999.

Gordon had been cleaning his windows, which had raised his heart rate. But his pacemaker started to shock him in case he was having a heart attack.

‘I was just walking in the house when – bang! – I got this almighty shock,’ he said. ‘I struggled into the hallway and managed to get hold of the door into the sitting room. As I went in, I saw something red go past the window. It was Mel’s jumper, so I shouted out to her.’

Mel has been doing the round in Gordon’s village for 14 years and knows him well.

‘I heard him shouting,' she said. 'The front door was open so I asked if he was okay. He said, "No, I’m having shocks from my pacemaker."

‘I called the ambulance straight away and stayed with him to reassure him. It was a little bit scary as he kept shouting out in pain.’

Following a few days in hospital, he made a delivery of his own – a thank you card to Mel's office.

'I may not have been here if Mel hadn’t been passing,’ he said. ‘I’ve been very lucky'.