Cornwall boy, 12, who had heart attack at school dubbed a 'walking miracle'

• Watch Richard Lawrence's report

A 12-year-old boy from Cornwall has been dubbed a "walking miracle" after surviving a heart attack he had in a school corridor.

Finlay Richards, who attends Penrice Academy in St Austell, was "absolutely fine" when his mum dropped him off at school on December 9 last year.

But shortly after his first lesson, he suffered a heart attack and collapsed in a corridor.

Staff had to use a defibrillator on him which ambulance crews say undoubtedly saved his life.

Three months later, Finlay is doing well and his mum is campaigning for all schools to be equipped with the life-saving device.

Critical care paramedic Thomas Hennessy Jones, from Cornwall Air Ambulance, was rushed to the school on the day of Finlay's collapse.

He told ITV News: "School fundamentally made the difference between life and death here - that’s how pivotal their involvement was.

"To have staff trained in first aid including CPR and especially defibrillation was the key to success.

"It’s amazing, Finlay in reality is a walking miracle so it’s remarkable to see him and really rewarding also as a member of the crew to see a patient come back and visit us."

Three months on, Finlay is now back at school and says he barely remembers the day other than "walking to the first lesson" and "a little bit" of his time in the ambulance.

Finlay was inititally taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital before being transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital where he was fitted with a cardio implant during a prologued stay.

Finlay’s mum, Donna, said: "Defibrillators you normally associate with older people but this just goes to show it was something we didn’t even know about.

"I just dropped him off to school and he was absolutely fine - then an hour later and he was on the floor."