ONE of the leaders of The Salvation Army in Woking has been praised for helping to save the life of a man who had had a heart attack.

Darren Green, community manager at the church and charity on Sythwood went to help Charlie Sciortino who had suffered a heart attack at the allotments next to the building.

Darren had received first aid and CPR training in the past and had run a refresher at the Salvation Army for church members after Sunday morning worship the day before Charlie fell ill.

“We heard a cry for help from Charlie's friend Giovanni,” Darren said.

“We have a defibrillator here so I ran over with that but the kit was offline waiting for new pads.”

When he arrived at the scene, Darren found that a member of the public, Carol, was administering CPR. He took over shortly after arriving.

He explained: “The emergency call handler helped set the pace for the CPR and the paramedics arrived shortly afterwards.

“I found out later that Charlie had got his heartbeat back so had been moved to a local hospital; it goes to show the importance of a quick response and hands-only CPR prior to a defibrillator being used.”

Charlie's son, Vince, said: “I can't thank Darren and Carol enough and they gave dad a second chance. Doctors told me they thought dad’s heart stopped for seven to 10 minutes so without them, things could have been very different.”

Darren said the incident demonstrates what a life-saving difference first aid skills can make and  he hopes The Salvation Army will be able to put on other first aid and CPR courses.

He said: “I was honoured to be able to try and help save Charlie. If more people know what to do in times of crisis, more lives can be saved.”