Tennis coach who died of heart problem had previously saved life of Essex cardiac arrest victim

A young tennis coach who died of an undiagnosed heart condition had previously saved the life of another cardiac arrest victim.

Ollie Toms, who was just 35 when he died last year, sprang into action when a man collapsed on the badminton court at the Saffron Walden sports centre ten years earlier.

Mr Toms' mother Glenis said her son had been a "wonderful human being" who always wanted to help people.

She was speaking at a 24-hour tennis challenge being held in memory of Mr Toms at Great Dunmow leisure centre in Essex.

The Ollie4Ollie event, organised by fellow coach Ollie Clark, was raising money for the British Heart Foundation and was supported by hundreds of players of all ages.

Ollie's mum Glenis Toms said: "People have turned out because they adored him. He was just so much fun and a wonderful human being."

She said her son had saved a man's life when he was just 24-years-old and saw a badminton player looking unwell in the leisure centre.

"He just literally fell down and Ollie rushed over. The man had stopped breathing. He did mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions for 20 minutes until paramedics arrived and kept him going."

The man went on to have heart surgery and pulled through.

Mr Toms died after emergency surgery for an undiagnosed heart condition in October 2023.

His mother said the turnout at the tennis event was absolutely wonderful to see.

"Ollie would be smiling up there - he would be so proud."Ollie Clark, who is running the challenge, said he wanted to do the 24-hour marathon in honour of his friend and fellow tennis coach.

He said: "The support has been endless. Even at 2am in the morning there were people here watching."

A spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation said it wanted to encourage as many people as possible to learn CPR.

The issue was highlighted after Luton Town footballer Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch and was revived by CPR.

Josh Parsons, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "With the help of Ollie Clark, Ollie Toms' family and the Dunmow community, we can support the science and research that develops the treatments for heart disease.

"The British Heart Foundation are so thankful to Ollie Clark for choosing us as the beneficiaries of the challenge, we couldn’t continue to fund lifesaving heart research without the generosity of the public and people like him."

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