Football player brought back to life by staff at Goals five-a-side after cardiac arrest

Tony Entwhistle said his heart stopped beating before quick-thinking staff brought him back to life. Watch Stuart Leithes' report.

A man whose life was saved after he collapsed from a cardiac arrest on a football pitch has spoken about his near-death experience.

Tony Entwhistle was playing football at an evening match at Goals Northampton two years ago, when he suffered a cardiac arrest.

He was only 47 at the time.

He said he suddenly had a feeling that he didn't feel right: "There'd been no warning signs at all, so I didn't know what was about to happen.

"And I was literally walking back to go in goal and halfway to going to goal, I just collapsed, face planted on the pitch. My heart stopped, sudden cardiac arrest."

When staff came out to find him, he said he was "essentially dead, no heartbeat, not breathing."

General manger Elliott Holmes was playing on another pitch when he heard the call for help. He rushed over with the defibrillator they keep onsite.

Tony got lucky. The British Heart Foundation says fewer than one in ten people survive what are known as out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.

But defibrillators can increase the likelihood of survival. They now come with audible instructions to talk people through the potentially life-saving process.

Tony's story has even inspired a Northampton-based hauliers to install defibrillators at all of its depots.

Samuel Scott, who is Sales Director at Panther Logistics in Northampton, heard Tony's story from his friend Elliot, the general manager who came to the rescue.

Doctors were never sure what had caused Tony's cardiac arrest.

He's retired himself from playing football but still plays tennis. And he's pleased his story has raised awareness that having a defibrillator on hand could help to save someone's life.

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