A BETTING shop worker has spoken of his lifesaving heroics after he resuscitated a dying man by the roadside.

Martin Gill used first aid techniques he learnt as a trainee electrician to revive a man who had suffered a heart attack while driving in Darlington on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old was working behind the counter of the Ladbrokes shop in Harrowgate Hill, Darlington, when he was alerted to the man, who had managed to steer his van onto the pavement.

Mr Gill said: “A customer came in saying ‘call an ambulance’.

He had seen a van coming down the road, and the driver was clutching his chest.

“There were a few people about and they had managed to get him out of the van, but were just stood looking at him lying on the floor.

“I checked for a pulse; he wasn’t breathing, so I administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).”

For about three minutes, Mr Gill used chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth to keep oxygen pumping round the man’s body, and he regained consciousness for a few moments.

Mr Gill said: “He was gargling and did not really know where he was. I was monitoring his pulse, but then we lost it again.”

Mr Gill then resumed CPR until the road and air ambulance crews arrived.

Despite his efforts, Mr Gill said he feared the worst.

He said: “It did not look good. He had turned blue by the time they got to him.

“We were told he was dead, but then this morning people were coming in the shop saying his is alive.

“I am pleased, but still worried about the bloke.”

The man was resuscitated by the Great North Air Ambulance en route to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.

Last night, the man, thought to be aged 50, was described as being in a more stable condition.

On Wednesday, paramedics praised Mr Gill for his decisive action, but he said he did not want to be considered a hero.

He said: “I have never had to do it before, it is strange how it just clicked in, I did not even have to think about it.

“Anyone with any first aid experience would have done the same.”