Hero daughter saves dad suffering a cardiac arrest during a spin class

Retired steelworker Jimmy King is easing himself back into attending workouts run by daughter Fay, who performed the life-saving heroics with others at Laughton Village Hall.

Medics said that Jimmy would have died were it not for the defib installed outside the building — and the quick and calm reactions of those around him.

He was also helped by being in good health — and resumed exercise less than two months after coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Jimmy, who worked in the handrolling mills at Parkgate for 40 years, said: “The first thing I remember after it all happened was waking up in bed and Fay was in a chair beside me. I was in the high-dependency ward at Rotherham Hospital.

“It was unbelievable, wasn’t it? I’ve been calling my daughter God whenever she walks into a room, but they were all like a well-oiled machine when it happened. I can’t thank them enough.

“I’m eight weeks out of hospital. On December 10 I was dead and now I’m walking 5km a day.”

Jimmy, of Rawmarsh, has been keen on fitness for decades. He built a mini-gym in his back garden 30 years ago and inspired Fay’s career choice.

“It’s a good job the defibrillator was there on the outside the hall,” he said. “That really did the trick.

“They said the CPR got a pulse back but that defib shot me a foot off the floor!”

Fitness instructor Fay did a resuscitation refresher course between lockdowns but this was the first time in her 14 years since first training that she needed the skills — it just happened to be for her own father.

“Dad had been on the exercise bike when I saw him just fall to the floor,” said Fay (47). “I stayed calm, did mouth-to-mouth and was able to use the defibrillator.

“There were about six of us there helping him. The paramedics applauded what we did and said without us and the defib, he would have died.

“They also said because Dad is as fit as he is, that also helped. They said he had the body of a 60-year-old. He said: ‘I’ll take that!’ He was back on his feet and home within a week.

“Through it all, the NHS have been absolutely amazing. It’s one of the very best things we have in this country and I think it sometimes doesn’t get the praise it deserves.”

It was also said to be lucky that there was an ambulance waiting to go at Maltby’s station.

Fay, of Dinnington, said: “We were so lucky that everything just fell into place. It really was meant to be.”

The heart-starting kit was installed after Laughton Parish Council drew up a strategy in 2015, given concerns about the village’s remote location.

Clerk Caroline Havenhand said: “We wanted to put in place as many defibrillators as we needed. We started with the village hall, then both schools and lastly at the Travellers Rest pub in Brookhouse.

“They have been used on occasion, but this is the first time we’ve really known the outcome because we know Fay and she’s regularly at the hall.

“She did a fantastic job in the circumstances to stay calm, and it’s great that the defibrillator was able to help save her dad’s life.”