Firefighter and volunteers honoured at Local Heroes Awards

Caz Whiteman, part of Green Watch at Rotherham Fire Station, stepped in to help when a man collapsed at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium during their Champions League match against Sevilla last season.

She helped pitchside first aiders administer CPR on the suspected heart attack victim until parmedics arrived.

She spotted that Jim Blockley was having health difficulties and decided to step in and help, giving CPR for more than 15 minutes.

Now, Caz has been presented with a certificate at a Local Heroes event in Sheffield — and been reunited with the man she helped to save, who has since recovered.

Caz said: “My actions were a natural, instinctive reaction to the situation in front of me.

“Anyone with the right skills and training would have done the same thing. I’m just so relieved that Jim has made it.”

Caz was presented with her certificate and reunited with Jim and his grateful family at the Local Heroes event in the Mercure Sheffield St Paul’s Hotel.

The event, which was attended by the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Rotherham, Cllr Alan Buckley and Mrs Sandra Buckley, recognised the achievements of emergency service workers and local charity volunteers.

Also picking prizes were Bluebell Wood Children Hospice heroes Alex and Julia Gibbons and Katie Knight.

Katie and her family have raised £50,000 for the hospice in memory of Katie’s late sister Emma, who stayed at the hospice a few years ago, while solicitors Alex and Julia have helped secure £1 million of will requests for the charity through customers of their firm Buchanan & Co.

Two workers from charity SAFE@LAST workers were honoured — family support worker Jayne Kent and outreach worker Joe Clay for their work helping young runaways and their families.

Rotherham Hospice trustees Bronwen Watson David Wheater were recognised for their efforts, as were Yorkshire Air Ambulance volunteers Eva Birch and Freda Nicolaou and several members of the Royal Military Police Association’s South Yorkshire branch: Eddie and Angela Mincher, Bill and Pat Richmond, Anthony Bown and Barrie Woodward.