Local lifeguards honoured for saving woman’s life

A team of lifeguards from Western Swimming Pool who helped to save the life of a swimmer have been honoured by the Royal Life Saving Society UK.

Three lifeguards from the Derby Road centre – Breesha Laing, Stephanie Brew and Kirstyn Horne – as well as assistant manager Phil Littlejohns have each received a Certificate of Meritorious Lifeguards from the UK’s drowning prevention charity in honour of their outstanding efforts.

The team spotted a female swimmer getting into difficulty during a gentle aquafit session for seniors and helped her out of the pool. The woman was unable to talk, her face had fallen on one side and she then collapsed. The team identified that the woman was suffering a stroke and called an ambulance.

The woman’s condition quickly deteriorated and she stopped breathing. The team immediately began to administer CPR and continued to do so until she started breathing again. A paramedic arrived 15 minutes later and helped the team with CPR until the ambulance arrived.

The lady was taken to hospital where she is recovering. Her daughter has since visited the centre to personally thank the lifeguards for their actions.

“We’re delighted that the lifeguard team from Western Swimming Pool has been honoured in this way. They instinctively sprung into action and performed extremely well backed by other colleagues who looked after the lady’s husband and other swimmers in the pool while the lifeguards were occupied,” says Mike Ferguson, National Trainer/Assessor on the Isle of Man.

“Our lifeguards are trained to deal with precisely these sorts of situations and I’m very proud of how they performed on the day. Our thoughts are now with the lady and her family and we wish her a speedy recovery.”

Director at RLSS UK, Martin Symcox, said: “We were pleased to recognise the team from Western Swimming Pool who used their training and skills to the highest standard. They should be extremely proud of their actions and we are pleased to hear that the lady is recovering.”

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