Air ambulance called to Leicester kids football tournament after grandad collapses

An air ambulance, road ambulances and Leicestershire Police rushed to a children's football tournament after a spectator collapsed while watching his grandson play.

It happened in Rushey Mead, in Leicester, at about 12.15pm today (Saturday, May 18).

The man, who is believed to be in his 60s, fell down with an apparent heart problem.Staff at the Highfields Rangers ground in Gleneagles Avenue rushed to help and used a defibrillator to treat him.

Paramedics arrived and a spokesman for the ground, speaking about 45 minutes after the man's collapse, said the grandad was breathing again and being treated in an ambulance.

He said: "One of the older guys collapsed. We've got a kids' mini-soccer tournament going on today with various teams from around the city and he had been watching his grandson play.

"The ambulance service came and lots of police showed up, too.

"The man is breathing again and he's now in the back of an ambulance being treated and the air ambulance has landed in case they need to rush him to hospital."Luckily we've got a defibrillator here. We kept him going until the ambulance got here."

A member of the public who was near the ground at the time said: "We were in the area and saw two ambulance cars with their lights on, then two police cars and a police van, and they all stopped at the football ground, where police were blocking the entrance.

"I understand it’s a medical emergency, and someone has had a heart attack."

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