A County Durham Asda delivery driver has been hailed a hero after rushing to save the life of his girlfriend who had suffered a cardiac arrest. 

When Asda home shopping worker Sophie Miller went into cardiac arrest last September, her boyfriend and colleague Shaun Musgrove dashed to the scene and gave her life-saving CPR.

The couple, who work at the supermarket's Peterlee store, had only just started dating when Sophie collapsed as she delivered to a customer in Seaham. 

Sophie had texted Shaun to say she wasn't feeling well, and when he called her back the customer's neighbour told him that she'd called 999 after seeing Sophie pass out.

The Northern Echo: Shaun and SophieShaun and Sophie (Image: ASDA)

Shaun, 30, rushed over and performed two sets of CPR under the direction of a 999 call handler – and Sophie started to come round by the time paramedics arrived. 

Shaun said: "After about two minutes, her heart started to beat again but she wasn't awake and then the paramedics pulled up just as she started to open her eyes. They were pretty quick getting there.

"I'd never done CPR before. I just did it from instinct as I was panicking a bit too. I'd watched a video at some point about doing it to the Bee Gee's Stayin' Alive so I did that.

"My heart sank when I saw her out cold on the floor. I just thought 'no way', she's just come into my life and brought me all this happiness and I thought she's now going to leave me. I was heartbroken.

The Northern Echo: Shaun, 30, rushed over and performed two sets of CPR under the direction of a 999 call handlerShaun, 30, rushed over and performed two sets of CPR under the direction of a 999 call handler (Image: ASDA)

"The relief when she started to breathe again and her heart started to beat was unbelievable. It was so emotional. I knew Sophie was someone I wanted to be with, but this proved it. I didn't want to lose her."

Sophie, 27, has had heart palpitations on and off for about seven years.

She can't remember much of that day, only that she was dropping off groceries in Seaham.

Sophie said: "When I came round and saw Shaun's face above me I felt so safe and relieved.

"I don't know how I did it but I mustered up all this strength and I just grabbed his collar. I had tears in my eyes. I was just so glad that he was there for me. He is an absolutely amazing person. I didn't think this sort of love would ever happen to me, but it has."

Sophie was taken to Sunderland Hospital with Shaun by her side and was put on an ECG heart monitor throughout the night.

Since then, she has had heart scans and has been talking to consultants and cardiologists from both Sunderland Hospital and James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough. 

Sophie says her relationship with Shaun has gone from strength to strength since the incident, and they now live together in Peterlee, along with Sophie's two-year-old daughter Olivia.

She said: "After all this happened we made things properly official as we were just dating and just talking before that."

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While Sophie is still undergoing tests she isn't on home deliveries but still working in the home shopping pod.

Shaun, who started working at the store in September 2021, said: "Sophie's just perfect and so funny. She's got mint craic and such a positive attitude towards life – and on top of everything else she's absolutely beautiful too."

Sophie started working at the store in June last year and recalls when she first saw Shaun.

She said: "I think I was taking totes out of the van as I was still doing my buddy training at the time. I looked at him and thought he was very handsome and cute.

"After about a month or so I had a bit of Dutch courage one night and I messaged him and we started to talk to each other back and forth every day and then started to go out."

Following the scary episode, Shaun has been hailed a hero by everyone at Peterlee Asda.

Bev Dean, Asda Peterlee's customer trading manager, said:" It’s amazing what Shaun did. He didn’t even stop to think about it; he just went to her rescue and started CPR and saved her life.

"They’re such a sweet couple. They both have a heart of gold and just want to be happy. Sophie has a little girl and she tells me that Shaun and her daughter spend hours having fun in their little world and sometimes she doesn’t get a look in."