‘Hands-on’

Middlesborough postwoman Kendra Johnson has been praised for her part of a heroic joint effort, fighting to save a man’s life after he suffered a heart attack.

Kendra was among those queuing outside B&Q in Portrack, Stockton, when a man collapsed in his car. Several shoppers joined Kendra and rushed to the man’s aid, as his distraught wife screamed for help.

‘She was absolutely frantic, understandably,’ Kendra told Teeside Live. ‘I flung my handbag at my husband and ran over.’

Kendra opened the passenger door to find another customer, who had also rushed to help, already performing chest compressions on the man.

‘We started to take it in turns with CPR while people were helping with other things,’ said Kendra. ‘The man wasn't breathing, and he didn't have a pulse. All I was thinking was breathe, please, just breathe.’

A B&Q customer, who was also a CT radiographer, brought a defibrillator from the store and was able to successfully shock the man just before an ambulance arrived.

‘He made a slight noise, so we knew there was air there,’ said Kendra. ‘We just carried on until the paramedics were able to move him.

‘I've never experienced anything like it before. Everyone was hands-on, we just did what we had to do.’

The North East Ambulance Service confirmed the man had gone into cardiac arrest. He was taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where he continues to receive treatment.

‘I still can't get him out of my head,’ said Kendra. ‘I managed to speak to a family member of the gentleman who told me he is poorly but that he's alive.’